COKN 77 



kernels should be sprouted. (It may be necessary to wet the 

 soil again during this time.) In examining the kernels care 

 should be taken to notice whether or not both the stalk end 

 and the root end of the germ have grown. Sometimes only 

 one end grows. Such kernels should be discarded. Since 

 one ordinary sized ear will plant one-fourteenth of an acre, 

 the importance of having every ear a good one is easily seen. 



Choosing the Seed Ears. — The details for choosing the 

 seed ears cannot all be given here. In the first place an ear 

 of medium size should be chosen, the rows should be straight, 

 and the ear should taper but very little from the butt to the 

 tip. The kernels should keep their size out to the end of the 

 tip, and there should be as many rows at the tip as there are 

 at the butt. There should be but few irregularly shaped ker- 

 nels at the butt or tip. The kernels should round out well 

 over the cob at the butt and should come as near covering the 

 cob at the tip as possible. However, it is better to have a 

 little of the cob exposed at the tip than to have it covered with 

 a large number of small, flinty kernels. The kernels should 

 fit up tightly together at the cob, and there should be very 

 little space between the rows on the outside. The kernels 

 should not be sharply rough, neither should they be smooth. 

 They should be longer than wide and taper just a little from 

 the crown to the tip. When removed from the cob the tip of 

 a kernel should not break off showing a black end. Such 

 kernels are not well matured. The back of the kernel should 

 be clear and flinty looking. The color should be uniform 

 whether it be yellow, white, red or speckled. Kernels of any 

 other color or different shades of the same color show mixture. 



Preparing for the Planter.— After selecting and testing, 

 the ears are ready to be shelled. The shelling should not be 



