30 EXPERIMENT STATTOX RECORD. 



the 2 e;irs were siuiilar in most respects, the Iowa ear had 4 more rows of kernels 

 and nearly 30 per cent more kernels. It is stated that the measurements of the 

 kernels of the 2 ears indicated that those of the Iowa ear were heavier than 

 those of the Delaware ear, and that consequently it would shell more corn to 

 the cob. The Iowa ear also had a .greater circumference and the kernels were 

 deeper than on the Delaware ear. 



Germination tests were made of 10 ears from each of the 150 samples. Ten 

 kernels from each ear were germinated in a specially constructed germiuator 

 and .5 kernels from each ear were germinated in sand. In the germinator 20 

 per cent of the ears showed imperfect germination and in sand 20.1 per cent. 

 The percentage of ears imfit for seed as determined by these germination tests 

 in both sand and cloth was 28. 



From the study of the samples collected it is concluded that much of Delaware 

 corn is susceptible to and worthy of improvement, and that by systematic selec- 

 tion the yields might be increased from 20 to 40 per cent. 



The shrinkage of ear corn in cribs, A. X. Hume and O. D. Center {Illiuoifi 

 *S7fl. Bill. lis. ijp. S61-S76). — This bulletin shows that as an average for 10 years 

 past the Chicago cash price for corn has been .3.8 cts. per bushel higher in May 

 than in December, or 6..S cts. if 5 lbs. less ear corn is taken for a bushel at this 

 time than in December. In order to find out whether it would be more profitable 

 to market corn as early as possible after husking or to hold it, shrinkage experi- 

 ments were conducted and the increases in price necessary to compensate for 

 the loss in weight were determined. Corn cribs were constructed at Urbana and 

 Sibley in such a manner that they could be lowered to rest iipon the platforms 

 of large wagon scales and weighed. At Sibley a check experiment was made by 

 weighing each wagon-load of corn as it was put into the crib and weighing out 

 all the corn when the crib was emptied at rhe end of the trial. 



The data given in tables showed that the first year the shrinkages of the 2 

 cribs at Urbana and Sibley varied between 12.3 and 19.8 per cent. December (5. 

 1901, 20,545 lbs. of corn were weighed into a crib at Sibley and weighed out 

 again September 25, 1903, when the weight was found to be 18,690 lbs. The 

 loss in this case was 1,855 lbs., or 9 per cent for the entire period of 22 months. 

 In a second crib treated identically as the first the loss amounted to 9.2 per cent. 

 In a stationary crib filled with corn early in November and emptied about a year 

 later the weights in and out were respectively 19.8.50 lbs. and 17,280 lbs., repre- 

 senting a loss of 12.9 per cent for the year. 



It was found that the amount of shrinkage of corn in cribs varies widely, and 

 that the increase in price necessary to compensate for this shrinkage must con- 

 sequently also be subject to the same variation. The present rate of decrease 

 in the weight of corn up to September of each year runs from 12 to nearly 20 

 per cent in the 4 different trials, and an increase in price for September varying 

 between 4.9 and 8.0 cts. per bushel is necessary 'to compensate for this loss in 

 weight. The shrinkage for the third quarter of the year was noticeably greater 

 than that of the second, the avei'age difference being 8.7 per cent. The shrink- 

 age from June to September averaged only 2.1 per cent, and by far the most 

 noticeable shrinkage occurred during the months of April and May. 



From observations on the shrinkage of corn during the second year of storage 

 in cribs it was apparent that practically all moisture comes out of ear corn 

 during the first year. In the one trial at Sibley the shrinkage was 19.6 per cent 

 at the beginning of the second year and had increased to only about 20.5 per 

 cent by the following September. It is concluded from these results that it is 

 apparently safe to assume that old corn may be stored in cribs with very slight 

 loss from shrinkage. 



