58 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



will not remain pure more than four or five years. 

 It then becomes necessary to again secure well-bred 

 seed. As yet the demand has been but little developed. 

 Farmers are just beginning- to realize the importance 

 and benefit of improved seed, but even now corn 

 breeders are not able to supply the demand. That 

 this demand will increase far beyond the capacity of 

 corn breeders to supply, there is no doubt. 



The advantages of improved seed corn 

 are numerous and the grower quickly 

 reaps the benefit. For instance, improved 

 corn tends to diminish the percentage of 

 barren stalks. This is important because 

 the barren stalks represent a direct and 

 great loss to the corn grower. Statistics 

 secured with great care show that the 

 loss caused by barren stalks, in many 

 fields, approximates ten and even fifteen 

 per cent. 



Again it is true that in the average 

 field the ears of corn are not uniform in 

 size. Only a small proportion are large. 

 The majority are irregular, many being 

 very small and stunted. It is the func- 

 tion of the corn breeder to increase the 

 uniformity of the crop by selecting and 

 preserving only the best ears. The pro- 

 , portion of corn to cob, the shape of ear, 



Fig 17— Corn Silk l r . 



Greatly magnified, the filling out of ends, are all subject to 

 ponen n a g dhering ol th e breeder's influence, so that by con- 

 tinuous selection of a uniform ear an 

 improved type may be raised for the benefit of 

 the grower. This benefit is out of all proportion 

 to the increased cost of seed for improved strains. 

 In buying an ear of corn, the growers get a thousand 

 individuals capable of reproducing themselves in one 



