CORN 



143 



the standing corn has so many advantages over picking the 

 seed at the time the general crop is harvested, or later from the 

 bin or crib, that it should be practiced by every corn grower. 



Field selection affords an opportunity to study the stalk 

 on which the ear grew and to observe the surrounding stand. 

 The parent stalk should be vigorous and should bear the ear 

 at a medium height. A well-developed ear, selected from a 

 three-stalk hill, is more valuable for seed than an equally 

 well-developed ear 

 which grew in a 

 one-stalk hill or 

 where the surround- 

 ing stand was very 

 thin. In selecting 

 seed ears after they 

 have been gathered, 

 it is impossible to 

 know whether their 

 excellence is due 

 to the exceptionally 

 favorable conditions 

 under which they 

 grew or to their 

 good breeding. 



The common 

 method of early 

 fall selection is to 

 go into the field 

 with a sack, and then select the desired ears from the best 

 stalks. In case seed ears are selected as the corn is harvested, 

 a padded box should be attached to the side of the wagon to con- 

 tain the ears chosen. The selection is usually too hastily done 

 during harvesting time. In some cases seed ears are selected as 

 the corn is being unloaded at the crib. Even this method has 

 much to commend it over the common practice of selecting the 

 seed from the bin or crib the following spring. 



FIG. 64. Tips, butts, and middles 



The left row shows a good ear, the middle row a fair ear, 



and the right a poor one. (Photograph from University 



of Missouri) 



