SIXTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART I. 7 



Xow, if our people who don't know anything about this sub- 

 ject, would just keep their mouth shut, and let those who have 

 had some practical experience with it do the speaking, they might 

 have results. As it is, they befog the w^hole subject. The re- 

 sult is, the farmer who hasn't given the subject much thought, 

 the young and inexperienced farmer, doesn't know what to do. 

 It may sound egotistical, but I want to say, I know all there is 

 to be known about this ; I have been through the mill. One year 

 I lost over $2000 on account of poor seed corn. We planted i\ 

 three times ; and yet that corn was sound and dry, and apparently 

 well matured when I saved it in the fall. But I had adopted a new 

 method of caring for it in the winter. I was a boy at that time 

 and didn't know anything at all about corn. But there were far- 

 mers living in the neighborhood who suggested that we gather our 

 seed corn in the fall that year. There was no floor on the upper 

 part of the house, which gave a fine chance for strips ; one room 

 was kept for a kitchen and the other for a bed room, and keeping 

 fire day and night, that corn grew. We continued that method for 

 a good many years. After a while we had a little of the worldly 

 goods, and building a little better house, my better half suggested 

 we would not take the corn in the new house ; that wouldn't do ; 

 that was tdo good for corn. But we had the old house, and we 

 had always gathered the corn as usual, but there was one essen- 

 tial lacking ; there was no fire there. When that corn was taken 

 out in tlie spring, there w^as not two-thirds of it that grew; that 

 was my second lesson. I have paid for my experience. 



I would be willing to enter into a contract to deliver all the 

 corn that would be needed for farmers in Iowa, if I had the 

 facilities, and guarantee one hundred per cent for germination 

 each and every year, I don't care what the weather is. I have been, 

 as I said, through the mill ; have had all the experience in trying 

 to keep it. With the method I shall outline in this paper, there 

 will be no difficulty. You can secure your corn, do your plant- 

 ing in the full assurance that every grain will germinate a strong 

 and healthy stalk. 



