SEVENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART X. 589 



I am often asked how I became interested in tlie study of corn breed- 

 ing. It was in December, 1901, wliile at the International Stock Show 

 in Chicago, that I met 0. D. Center of Champaign, Illinois, who had 

 charge of a corn exhibit for the Illinois Experiment Station. He asked 

 me if I was interested in corn growing. I told him "a little." After talk- 

 ing a /while to him he asked me to attend a meeting of the delegates from 

 the different agricultural colleges, to be held at the Stock Exchange 

 building that evening; that he had a paper to read on corn breeding. 

 I attended the meeting. The next day I spent part of my time at the 

 corn exhibit with the young man. 



After I returned home I sent to James L. Reid of Delavan, Illinois, for 

 some pure bred Reid's seed corn and began the work of corn breeding. 

 To the average man the term "corn breeding" means nothing, so I will not 

 dwell long on that part of the work. I am endeavoring to breed a uni- 

 form ear of corn with shape, straightness of row, well covered tips and 

 well filled butts. Not a large ear, but an ear ten inches long, seven 

 and one-half inches in circumference at the butt and tapering slightly to- 

 wards the tip, with twenty rows and an ear that will mature in this lo- 

 cality. I want to eliminate the weak and harren stalks and have every 

 stalk producing something. If we plant our corn three feet and six 

 inches each way we would have three thousand five hundred and fifty-six 

 hills per acre, and if every hill produced two pounds of corn we would 

 have a yield of one hundred bushels of corn per acre. 



Some will say they don't see why a corn breeder tries to have the 

 ears filled so well at the butt and the tip. Do you know if we can 

 grow two ears to each hill, and then get fifteen extra kernels on the tip 

 and the same on the butt of each year, we will increase our yield of 

 corn three and one-third bushels of shelled corn per acre, which is profit? 

 So these little things amount to dollars and cents to the com grower, 

 depending on the price of corn. 



Farmers, do not discard your old variety of seed-corn until you are 

 sure that it is not the best corn for you to plant, but make a variety 

 test; buy some seed-corn of one of the improved varieties and plant in 

 the following way; have the ground well prepared and as nearly the 

 same as possible. Plant four rows of your old variety of corn and then 

 four rows of the new variety of corn. Repeat this at least four times. 

 In that way the conditions of the soil and the cultivation would be about 

 the same. Then when you harvest the crop in the fall you can count the 

 stalks in the rows and see which variety gave you the best results. Then 

 you will know which variety is best suited for your purpose. 



Remember, there will be no good seed in this field, as the two va- 

 rieties will be mixed, but you will have seen which variety gave you 

 the best results, then you can get some pure seed of that variety to plant 

 your next year's crop. This trial may mean much to you at the end of 

 five years. 



A word on corn shows: They are of value for the educational part; 

 there is nothing like comparing your goods with the other fellow's. 

 You soon can see where your corn is weak and what the corn men are 

 trying to produce. Don't be misled by the score-card; it is a guide to 

 study by. Two samples of corn can score the same, yet one is a better- 

 sample than the other to plant. 



