THE GRAINS 151 



by careful selection it is perfectly possible to secure 

 strains in which the kernels run much higher than 

 the average in either starch, protein, or oil, thus 

 adapting the grain much better to the different 

 purposes for which it is used. For starch, glucose, 

 and distilled liquors a higli starch content is de- 

 sirable. For feeding purposes a high protein con- 

 tent is best, and for the manufacture of corn oil a 

 high oil content is, of course, desired. We are 

 only just beginning to realize how plastic most of 

 our more familiar farm crops are and how possible it 

 is to greatly improve them in almost any desired 

 direction simply by careful attention to the selection 

 of the seed. 



Diseases and Insects. — Corn is subject to a con- 

 siderable number of diseases, but the smut is the 

 only one of suihcient importance to be considered 

 here. The unsightly black spore masses of this fun- 

 gus are familiar objects in every cornfield. It may 

 attack almost any part of the plant, but it is usually 

 found involving the ears and it is only here that any 

 serious damage is done. The number of smutted 

 ears varies greatly in different fields and in different 

 seasons, but it seldom exceeds two or three per cent. 

 Even this small percentage represents in the aggre- 

 gate an enormous loss. Corn smut cannot be con- 

 trolled by treating the seed, as is the case with the 

 various smuts of the small grains. The only known 

 remedy is to hand pick and destroy the young 

 pustules before they burst and scatter the multitude 

 of black dustlike s^Dores. Even this will not prove 

 an entire preventive, since these spores are so light 



