SELECTING OR JUDGING SEED-CORN 135 



ears on which the germs in the grains are dead or injured. 

 A very even stand may be obtained by testing between 

 moist blotting-paper six grains from every ear of seed- 

 corn. Do not plant the ears whose grains fail to sprout 

 or that make small, weak sprouts. 



EXERCISE. Every pupil should bring to school at least one ear of 

 corn for use in reciting this lesson. After one ear has been scored 

 under the teacher's direction pupils may by themselves practice scoring 

 or comparing other ears. 



NOTE TO THE TEACHER. The first day let every pupil carefully 

 score one ear. Repeat this exercise from two to four times, being care- 

 ful that each day every pupil scores a different ear or ears. Encourage 

 every one to give the reasons why he scored each quality of a certain 

 ear high or low, and by consensus of opinion try to decide which are 

 really the best ears. 



When the class shows some proficiency in scoring single ears, and 

 before interest wanes, endeavor to have every pupil bring from home 

 either five, or better ten, selected ears. Let them first place the ears 

 quickly from left to right in supposed order of merit ; then score every 

 ear, re-arranging the ears according to the scores now given. Two or 

 more days may well be spent on each set of ten ears. Then new sets 

 may be brought or the different sets may be exchanged. 



It will stimulate interest and proficiency to promise that when the 

 class has had five to ten days of practice in corn judging, it may give a 

 public exhibition of corn and of corn judging. 



The public exercises should consist of (i) the placing in order of 

 merit of five or ten ears, (2) the careful scoring of some of these ears, 

 and (3) in answer to the teacher's questions, a statement of reasons why 

 certain ears are scored or arranged low down. 



This may be supplemented by a display of sets of ten ears of corn 

 brought on invitation by neighbors ; by the display of the results of 

 a germination test; by the reading of a short composition on some 

 phase of corn growing ; and by the reading of extracts from bulletins 

 on. corn published bv some experiment station. 



