44 



one lot of seed so that each of the test samples was planted between two 

 plots of the same kind of corn. 



HARVESTING THE COBN. 



The corn was husked the latter part of October. As the corn from each 

 plot was weighed, the ears were divided into two grades, one of good corn 

 and one of small nubbins, mouldy ears, and badly smutted ears. The corn 

 in each case was weighed separately. 



In 1919, twenty representative ears from each man's corn were saved 

 at the County Farm and twenty others at the Hock farm. These samples 

 were tied up with twine, weighed, and hung up in the Farm Bureau Office 

 to dry. When dry, they were weighed and shelled, the shelled corn weighed, 

 and a sample of the shelled corn sent to the Crop Production Department 

 of the University of Illinois, where a moisture test was made. 



CONTINUING THE TEST IN 1920 AND 1921. 



In 1920, the same one hundred eighteen men who had seed in the 1919 

 test each brought in another bushel of eighty ears of the same kind of corn 

 as that furnished in 1919. In most cases, the 1920 bushel was selected from 

 seed grown from the selected ears of the 1919 bushel, but in all cases it was 

 of the same "kind of corn. Two additional samples were included in 1920, 

 making one hundred twenty lots. 



In 1921, one hundred seventeen bushels were brought in by the same men 

 who had seed in the 1919 and 1920 tests. All three of the men whose corn 

 was dropped had quit farming and their seed was no longer obtainable. 



The test was conducted in almost the same manner in 1920 and 1921 

 as in 1919. The differences were as follows: Each man brought in only 

 eighty ears, and no sorting out of the ear corn was done. Six kernels from 

 each ear were tested for germination and disease instead of ten as used the 

 first year. In 1921, the germination and disease test was made under super- 

 vision of J. R. Holbert, corn disease specialist of the U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture. 



In 1920 and 1921, the seed was planted with four kernels per hill, and 

 the corn thinned to two stalks per hill in the first and third rows and to 

 three stalks per hill in the second and fourth rows of each plot. The thin- 

 ning was done when the corn was about a foot tall. 



In 1920 and 1921, twenty representative ears for the moisture and shell- 

 ing test were saved from each of the four plots where each lot of seed was 

 planted, instead of from only one plot on each farm as was done in 1919. 



The corn was planted on the F. M. Hock farm east of Benson all three 

 years. It was planted on the County Farm in 1919 and 1920, and on the C. 

 M. Smith farm instead of the County Farm in 1291. 



INFORMATION SECURED REGARDING EACH SAMPLE. 



Bushels per Acre. The yields as published are of dry shelled corn. By 

 means of the moisture and selling tests, the yields of each sample were 

 based on the yield of shelled corn after it had dtied out so as to contain 

 fifteen per cent moisture. 



Per cent of Moisture. The moisture content of each sample at cribbing 

 time was determined. 



Per cent of Good Corn. The proportion by weight of the ear corn 

 which was sound, marketable corn at husking time was determined for that 

 grown from each sample each year 



Per cent of Shelled Corn. The shelling percentage of the crop raised 

 from each sample was determined each year. 



