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Ears slightly damaged by poor preservation may germinate 

 well, but will produce less than if they had received better care. 



Experiments have shown that if a few kernels (preferably 

 six) are taken from different parts of an ear of corn and all are 

 found to germinate well that is, to produce good healthy sprouts 

 practically all of the kernels on that ear will likewise show strong 

 vitality. On the other hand, if a part or all of the kernels tested 

 fail to germinate or show only weak sprouts, the proportion will be 

 the same for all of the kernels on such ears. The testing of a hun- 

 dred or more kernels from the entire lot of seed which has been 

 shelled for planting does not meet the requirements, save, perhaps 

 in a few very special cases. 



The objection is frequently made that the benefits derived 

 from individual-ear tests do not justify the amount of time and 

 labor expended. This objection, however, is an invalid one and is 

 never made by those who have carefully tested their seed in this 

 way. When it is considered that 12 or 15 ears of corn will furnish 

 enough seed to plant one acre, it can readily be seen that the time 

 and labor required for the testing is extremely small. 



The germination tests should be made five or six weeks before 

 planting time, but even if it is necessary to take the plow from the 

 field it is far more profitable to have a good stand of corn on 19 

 acres than it is to have a poor stand on 20 acres, thereby saving the 

 time and labor necessary to prepare the ground and to plant and 

 cultivate the additional acre. Yet many farmers are every year 

 planting and cultivating 3 or 4 acres in every 20 for which they 

 receive no returns. 



Preparatory to the sampling of the individual ears for the ger- 

 mination tests, it is quite essential that those of desirable type be 

 selected in order to avoid the testing of more ears than is absolutely 

 necessary. This can be best done by arranging the ears on a table 

 or on the floor, or in some such simple manner, so that they can be 

 carefully compared. With the corn spread out in this way the best 

 ears can be removed for seed and the undesirable ears discarded. 



The number of kernels to be used for the germination test may 

 be varied somewhat, but six kernels taken from different parts of 

 the same ear give reliable results. The kernels from ear No. 1 

 should be placed in square No. 1 of the germinating box, the kernels 

 from ear No. 2 in square No. 2, and so on. The kernels should be 

 placed germ side up. 



The kernels can be best removed with a dull pocket knife or 

 similar instrument. Grasp the ear firmly in the left hand, pointing 

 the butt of the ear away from the body. With the knife in the 

 right hand the kernels can be easily removed by forcing the blade 

 down along either the back or the side of the kernejs. As the kernel 

 is loosened, grasp it on the opposite side with the thumb and trans- 

 fer it to the proper square in the germinating box. The first kernel 

 should be taken about 2 inches from the butt of the ear. Give the 

 ear a quarter turn either to the right or the left and remove the 

 second kernel from the center of the ear. Make another quarter 



