OCTOBER 1. 1916 



THE CORN CROP IN FLORIDA. 



It sounds a little funny to talk about 

 Florida getting a good corn crop and ship- 

 ping it up north instead of being obliged 

 to send to Ohio or away off west to have 

 corn to feed to the chickens. On page 755, 

 Aug. 15, I spoke about the possibilities of 

 corn-growing in Florida. Below is a clip- 

 ping from the Jacksonville Times-Union: 



FLORIDA BECOMES A GRAIN-EXPORTING STATE THIS 

 FALL. 



For the first time in history, Florida is to become 

 a ^ain-exporting state this fall. The corn crop of 

 Florida this year is larger than ever before. From 

 the crop reports it is believed that several thousands 

 of bushels of corn will be sent north and east this 

 fall. 



SELECTING EARS OF SEED CORN FOR NEXT 

 year's PLANTING. 



For several years past I have made men- 

 tion of the way 1 pick out desirable ears in 

 our cornfield. I have been in the habit of 

 picking the ears as soon as I could find de- 

 sii'able ones sufficiently hard and mature 

 so the husks would be dry ; and by select- 

 ing the first to mature, season after season, 

 I have succeeded in shortening the growing 

 season quite a good deal. I was wonder- 

 ing whether I should keep on doing this. 

 I have always been in the habit of getting 

 ears that were the first to hang their tips 

 downward ; and while wondering whether I 

 should continue doing this I wrote to our 



Ohio Experiment Station. Below is their 

 reply : 



Mr. A. I. Boot: — Director Thorne has handed me 

 your letter of Sept. 14. Regarding the selection of 

 seed corn, let me say that it is an advantage to 

 choose ears that point dovniward at the tip. Tliey 

 are much more likely to furnish good sound seed, 

 for the water will run off the ear instead of en- 

 dangering it. Ordinarily one should select the 

 earlier-maturing ears. The exception would be in 

 the case of a very early variety that one wanted to 

 render a little later. C. G. Williams, Chief. 



Wooster, O., Sept. 15. 



Perhaps I should explain again that, in- 

 stead of getting my choice seed from a 

 stalk that was the only one in the hill, I 

 made the selection of a good ear where 

 there were three or four stalks in a hill, in 

 order to get a strain that Avould make a 

 good big growth of ear in spite of com^De- 

 tition. Then I tried to select ears with 

 regular even rows instead of those with 

 rows running zigzag, criss-cross, etc. I 

 also used the ears having the corn clear 

 down over the tip, etc. As a result, after 

 having just traveled in the cars and in 

 automobiles pretty well across the state of 

 Ohio from north to south I have not found 

 a cornfield that I thought equaled ours. 

 Perhaps, however, I should add that, in 

 getting this beautiful field of corn, we plow- 

 ed under a pretty rank stand of sweet clover. 

 It is another score for sweet clover for 

 bringing up the fertility of the land. 



POULTRY DEPARTMENT 



SHIPPING CHICKENS BY EXPRESS. 



On page 375, May 1, 1 mentioned sending 

 nine chicks, three weeks old, and six one 

 week old, from Bradentown, Fla., to Me-^ 

 dina, for 69 cents. I have since then 

 thought best to tell you how I did it, and 

 have every chick come thru bright and live- 

 \y. The picture on p. 879, last issue, shows 

 how I arranged a common market-basket so 

 as to make a light package. 



Had the chicks been only a day old they 

 could have been sent in a much lighter 

 package, as no feed nor water was needed ; 

 but the three that were three weeks old were 

 pretty lively; and as the weather was liable 

 to be cool, especially at night, I put a divi- 

 sion-board in the middle of the basket, and 

 had their sleeping-room padded with cotton 

 batting all around and overhead. If they 

 got too warm in the middle of the day they 

 could go over into the " dining-room." A 

 large-mouthed bottle I planned to hold wa- 

 ter enough ; and their feed, mostly wheat, 

 was scattered about the basket, with saw- 

 dust to absorb their droppings. One reason 



why the exi^ress charge was so low was the 

 lightness of the package. I have before 

 m.entioned that, as it took four days instead 

 of two or three, as I had planned, they were 

 out of both feed and water ; and they were 

 so hungry that they bit at my fingers when 

 I let them out ; but some Avarm bread and 

 milk soon set them to rejoicing. 



When my nine chickens got large enough 

 I found there was one rooster among the 

 three oldest ones, and one among the six 

 younger ones. As a matter of course they 

 soon began to quarrel. When the younger 

 one was nearly four months old I put him 

 in the same basket (taking out the parti- 

 tion), and sent it back to Bradentown. 

 Well, the charge this time was 85 cents ; but 

 I suppose it would have been cheaper had I 

 not put the value of ten dollars on the 

 shipping-tag. The letter below from friend 

 Abbott tells us in what condition they ar- 

 rived. 



Dear Mr. Root: — The cockerel came thru in 

 nice shape. He is " as fine as silk." I have him in 

 a small yard with one hen for company. I am feeding 

 him oats, bran, and wheat, with a very little corn 



