92 INDIAN CORN. 



8. Of several ears on the same stalk, those that 

 grow nearest the ground are to be preferred, if they 

 have the other requisite points. 



9. Select such ears as grow upon the shortest foot- 

 stalk. 



10. Those ears that are well filled out at the tips, 

 with the grain covering the extreme end of the cob, 

 are much to be preferred. 



11. From each ear take the central grains, rejecting 

 tips and butts. It has been satisfactorily proved that 

 the kernels near the ends of the cob give a smaller 

 yield and an inferior grain. 



12. If you plant seed not raised in your own 

 vicinity, let it be from a colder rather than a warmer 

 region. 



13. It is an excellent plan to appropriate a small 

 piece of ground for raising seed-corn, at a distance 

 from the main crop. In doing this, select a warm 

 situation, free from excessive moisture, and let the 

 ground be subsoiled or trenched, thoroughly pulver- 

 ized, and well manured. Plant in hills four or five 

 feet apart each way, with six to eight grains in a hill, 

 thinning out afterwards to two or three stalks. The 

 advantage of planting more than you intend to leave 

 is not merely that it provides for worms and accidents, 

 but it gives a chance for preference or selection. 

 When the corn is up eight or ten inches, you will often 

 find a material difference between the best and poor- 

 est stalks. You thus have an opportunity of selecting 

 the best. The greater the number you have to choose 

 from, the greater is the chance for perfection in those 



