60 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



seed possesses nearly all the good points of the 

 highly-bred seed, and differs only in the fact that 

 individual selection by the corn breeder has ceased. 

 This kind of seed can be produced in large quantities 

 and can be sold at a moderate price. No farmer, 

 however, can afford to depend on imported seed for 

 the main part of his crop. Seed corn imported from 



Cross-bred Self-fertilized 



Fig 18— Effect of Inbreeding 



Small stalks inbred; large stalks cross-bred 



a distance and especially from a different latitude 

 seldom gives satisfactory results the first two or three 

 years, even though the seed may be of the best, which 

 oftentimes is not the case. It is well known that 

 most of the seed corn put on the market by seedsmen 

 is bought of farmers in crib lots, shelled, screened and 



