FIFTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART X 681 



must be remembered that the actual amount of corn which an ear 

 carries will not be determined by the filling of the ear over the tip. 

 Here again, experiments have shown that the highest-yielding ears of 

 corn were those which were rather deficient in the filling of the butt 

 and tip, and that between these two characteristics the filling of the 

 tip was the less important. 



The ear should conform to the breed type of the variety. In yellow 

 corn we will look for a red cob; in white corn for a white cob. The 

 kernels as well as the cob should have a bright, uniform color, char- 

 acteristic of the variety. Foreign color in the kernels, as, for example, 

 white or red in a sample of yellow or yellow in a sample of white, indi- 

 cates either a mixture or a lack of breeding. The kernels should be 

 uniform in size, shape and depth, and should be arranged regularly in 

 well-defined rows from the butt to the tip. In shape, color, dent, etc., 

 they must conform to the variety type. The size or width of the kernel 

 determines, to a large extent, its character and strength. It is to the 

 ear of corn what the size of bone is to the animal. A small weak-boned 

 animal shows weakness in its makeup. And so corn, however well it 

 may be improved as to its type, may be strong or weak as indicated by 

 the size of the kernel. Corn grown in the northern latitudes generally 

 has a wider kernel and fewer rows than that in the southern part of the 

 corn belt. This must be true, for width of kernel which gives strength 

 is more necessary. And in the breeding of all our strains of corn, as in 

 the breeding of our animals, it will be necessary for us to keep away 

 from the "fine-boned, shoe-pegged" type of ear. The type that the judge 

 selects should be the type that will do the best in the field. 



Type is also indicated by the shape and dent of the kernel. The char- 

 acter of the dent varies from the smooth, hard, flinty corn to the soft, 

 chaffy, beaked varieties. The dent should be uniform over all parts of 

 the ear and it should be typical of the variety or of the ideal toward 

 v/hich we are selecting. There is a tendency in dented varieties of corn 

 toward a smoothness at the tip. This characteristic should be avoided. 

 It is one of the first indications of the lack of breeding and proper 

 selection. Most of the corn breeders are now selecting a rather medium 

 dent and are discarding the extremes of both the smooth and beaked 

 types. This practice conforms to the results which have been secured 

 in experimental work and which indicates that such corn will produce 

 the largest yields. 



The most important single factor to be considered in selecting corn 

 is vitality. It is the greatest factor for our low yield of corn. Ears 

 which will not germinate have no place in a show sample, much less 

 in the corn which has been saved for planting purposes. . Dead ears 

 may sometimes be detected by the "cheesy" appearance of the embryo. 

 The healthy germ should be large, smooth and bright — not discolored, 

 blistered, wrinkled or roughened. When broken apart it should appear 

 fresh and oily and the outside of the kernel should have a bright, cheer- 

 ful appearance. The germ should be of a rather creamy color and 

 rather brittle, although not dry or wrinkled. ChafBness, a white, starchy 

 condition (usually noticed at the crown of the kernel), the adherence 

 of a part of the chaff of the cob to the end of the kernel, or the ad- 



