CORN 



147 



(i) binder twine used as illustrated (Fig. 67); (2) the corn tree, 

 made by driving tenpenny finishing nails in a timber at an 

 angle and about two and one-half inches apart, the butts of the 

 ears being placed on the nails; and (3) the Pittsburgh electric- 

 weld two-by-four-inch-mesh fence cut so as to form a hanger. 

 There are numerous hangers on the market costing from half 

 a cent to a cent and a half an ear, but the homemade ones are 

 as satisfactory and less expensive. 



182. Testing the germinating power of the seed. Calcula- 

 tions show that only about 65 or 70 stalks of corn are secured 

 for every 100 kernels 

 planted. While such 

 factors as cold weather, 

 wet soil, careless cultiva- 

 tion, and insect ravages 

 are partly responsible 

 for poor stands, the use 

 of seed of poor vital- 

 ity is the chief and 

 altogether preventable 

 cause. The germina- 

 tion test should be com- 

 pleted only a few weeks 

 before planting time, in 

 order that one may be certain that the vitality of the seed has 

 not been injured by severe weather after the test was made. 

 It is also easier to maintain a uniform temperature in the tester 

 in the spring. Testing is of less importance south of the lati- 

 tude of St. Louis, but it will pay to make the test wherever 

 corn is planted. 



A germination test culls out the dead or weak ears (Figs. 68, 

 69, and 70). The results of extensive investigations show that 

 seed which germinates strongly in the tester gives a better stand 

 and produces a larger yield than seed which does not show high 

 or strong germinating power. When seed which showed I dead 

 kernel out of every 6 kernels tested was planted alongside of seed 



FIG. 68. Grains from different ears, showing 

 differences in strength of growth 



