Part II.] VALUE OF CORX. 93 



Having this in common, but a few years would be necessary 

 to lift the corn production of the State to SO bushels of shelled 

 corn per acre, — twice what it is to-day. 



The whole problem rests with the man and his servant, the 

 kernel of corn. Not a step is required here but what is de- 

 manded by good farming. To obtain this you cannot go far 

 from home for seed. Better take what you have and build on 

 that than risk seed grown under different environment. Last 

 year a few ears of corn were sent me by a Pennsylvania house 

 as extra Early Northern. The ears were large, too large for 

 our climate, but it was put into the hands of a careful grower, 

 on good corn land, with room to test carefully. The result was 

 a 12-foot stalk, ears 6 feet from the ground, and immature 

 when the frost came in October. The danger element is so 

 great when ordering seed from a distance that I would empha- 

 size the greater security through home-grown. More than this, 

 what a man does out of his own energies gives enthusiasm for 

 further efforts, and this insures increase and better farming. 

 Grow your own seed corn. 



If the law of the State prohibited the purchase of seed out- 

 side, and required every man to produce his own under a rigid 

 system of selection, it would insure better crops everywhere, 

 through closer attention to simple details. That personal in- 

 terests, financial interests, do not necessitate this is one of the 

 facts past comprehension. 



For improvement in corn, seed environment must be made 

 congenial, soil adaptability appreciated, and selection made 

 from largest and best ears, carrying kernels of the right type. 

 No man can follow this conscientiously, year after year, with- 

 out steadily increasing the value and yield per acre. It is the 

 law of progress applied to the homely duties of the farm. 



The set of the ear on the stalk bears important relation to 

 the length of days necessary for maturity. If you want an 

 eighty-day corn, select ears which come out near the ground, 

 though by so doing you reduce length of ear and yield. Look- 

 ing for a crop to mature, ready for seed breaking, in one hun- 

 dred days, and to yield 100 bushels of shelled corn I select 

 ears about 2^ feet from the ground. The danger in selecting 

 from the bin is that of getting a wide variation in time neces- 



