FIFTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART I. 51 



Figure 2, the kernels are placed on the floor opposite the ear from which 

 they were taken. Before removing the kernels from the ears, it is a good plan 

 to drive two nails at each end of the rows of corn to hold the ears in place. 



Figure 3, putting the kernels in the germination box; placing those from 

 ear No. ; in block No. 1; from ear No. 2 in block No. 2, etc. 



The germination box was filled about half full of thoroughly moistened 

 sawdust. A cloth ruled off into blocks or squares was then placed on the 

 sawdust and fastened at the corners and edges by tacks to hold it in place. 



To prevent the ears from being disturbed while the test is being made, it 

 it is a good plan to place a heavy board or plank over each of the rows of 

 ears . 



RECORD OF INDIVIDUAL EARS. 



Maximum yields can be obtained only by using the best seeds of the best 

 varieties. These seeds can be secured only by careful selection and breed- 

 ing. Last spring the most perfect kernels from 102 of our best ears of corn 

 were planted in rows side by side, each row being planted with kernels from 

 a single ear. At husking time each row was harvested by itself and the 

 record of yield, barren stalks, broken stalks, suckers, etc. , of each individ- 

 ual ear was thus secured. 



The following table shows the wide variation in the results obtained from 

 the different ears: 



RECORD OF INDIVIDUAL BARS: 



Ear No. Bu. per A. 



Bashels 75 \ Yielded 90. 56 bushels per acre 90. 56 



per \ 



Acre 93 ( Yielded 36.06 bushels per acre 36.06 



Percent 77 ( Gave 96. 5 per cent of a stand 83.03 



of ] 

 Stand 78 ( Gave 43 per cent of a stand 36.27 



Number 54 ( Gave 258 broken stalks or 64 per cent , 67. 52 



Broken ^ 



Stalks 85 ( Gave 41 broken stalks or 8 per cent 76.57 



Number 19 ^ Gave 79 barren stalks or 21.5 per cent 50.50 



Barren < 



Stalks 83 ( Gave 6 barren stalks or 1. 5 per cent 75 85 



Number 37 ( Gave 106 suckers or 21 per cent 77.93 



of ] 

 Suckers 75 ( Gave suckers 90.56 



This record illustrates very clearly the great difference in the producing 

 powers of different ears. Some ears produce more than six times as many 

 broken stalks as others. Other ears seemed to be predisposed to barenness. 

 For example, ear No. 19 gave 79 barren stalks while ear No. 83 gave only 6. 

 The variation in the number of suckers was still more striking, ear No. 37 

 giving 106 suckers while ear 75 was entirely free. 



Ears 47 and 83 (47 is not given in this table) are also very inter- 

 esting by way of comparison. The rows planted from these two ears had 

 practically the same number of stalks. Ear 47 produced 55 bushels per 

 acre. It had 67 barren stalks, 244 broken stalks and 62 suckers. Ear 83 

 yielded 76 bushels, had only 6 barren stalks, 130 broken stalks and 5 suckers. 



