ON CORN BREEDING 147 



medium length, should be chosen. High ears tend to mature 

 later, too low ears indicate earliness in silking. Flowering 

 before or after the main period of tasseling, they are dis- 

 posed to be fertilized only incompletely. In a good stand 

 all the stalks should silk at the same time. A short shank 

 holds the ear too erect, while a long shank allows it to hang 

 over too far and exposes the plant too much to heavy winds. 

 Moreover, the long shanks are inconvenient in husking. 

 The suckers, the amount of leaves, and the growth of the 

 brace roots must be considered. The time of ripening and 

 the number of ears on each stalk afford further differences. 

 Plants which may have profited by accidentally good condi- 

 tions, must be excluded from the comparison since they will 

 probably not be able to transmit their exceptional qualities 

 to their descendants. 



Records must be made for each individual row, con- 

 cerning these and other valuable characteristics. The main 

 point, however, is the total weight of the ears of a row. It 

 must be determined at harvesting time. It is the one great 

 factor of selection, since increasing the yield is the main 

 purpose of the work. Of course, the rows have to be of 

 equal length, each planted with the same number of kernels, 

 but if this condition is fulfilled, the total weight of the ears 

 is the primary factor in determining the best rows. 



After the husking, the characteristics of the ears and the 

 kernels should be considered. The comparative value of 

 the kernels depends partly on the demands of the planter or 

 planting machine, partly on their qualities for industrial 

 purposes. No planter can drop kernels evenly, when they 

 are of different sizes and shapes. Experiments with mixed 

 seed have always given an unsatisfactory stand, and only 

 perfect equality of kernels insures a perfect stand. There- 

 fore, the ears must be judged after this mark in the first 

 place. Tapering ears may have smaller kernels on the top 



