markable difference in yield. His land needed nitrogen and humus, 

 both of which he secured by growing a crop of peas. 



If phosphorus, potash or sulphur is absent, or all of these elements are 

 absent, and no manure is available, the elements lacking should be sup- 

 plied in the form of commercial fertilizer, for it does not pay to plow, 

 plant and cultivate only to secure a fraction of a crop. 



Seed 



The value of good seed cannot be overestimated, for the inherent 

 power to transmit its own kind is more marked in corn than in any other 

 plant. Strong, healthy, pure-bred seed produces its own kind, and 

 weak, emaciated seed of poor heredity is always reflected in the harvest. 

 Inbred corn produces deficient and deformed ears. Corn fertilized by 

 pollen from barren and sucker stalks is not apt to yield good corn, if any 

 at all, the tendency being to produce like stalks. The hereditary 

 tendency is so sensitive that the location of the ear on the stalk is trans- 

 mitted, a point to be considered in sections where the growing season is 

 short. It has been demonstrated that corn planted from ears located 

 near the ground will mature from ten to fifteen days earlier than those 

 located very high. 



Seed should be of a variety and strain adapted to the locality where it 

 is to be planted. Southern corn will not mature in a northern latitude, 

 neither will corn grown in a humid climate do well in a semi-arid section. 

 Corn can, however, become acclimated in two or three years. 



The seed grain should possess a strong vitality, for the reason that the 

 first stem and the holding roots secure their nourishment from the seed 

 itself, none being taken from the soil until the leaf is far enough above 

 ground to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. If the seed is 

 shriveled or has a weak vitality from any cause, the initial growth will be 

 weak and the leaf will be aenemic; but if, on the contrary, it is strong, 

 plump and healthy, it will germinate quickly, and before its vitality is 

 exhausted, the leaf will be breathing in that element which composes the 

 major portion of the plant. 



Corn for seed should be selected in the field (preferably from a breed- 

 ing plot) after it is thoroughly ripened and before the corn is cut. It is 

 advisable to collect the earliest maturing ears located at a uniform dis- 

 tance from the ground. As soon as it is gathered it should be placed in 

 a seed house which is artificially heated, if possible, and thoroughly ven- 

 tilated. A house garret is an ideal place to store seed, but a barn loft 

 over stock is not desirable. The corn grain and cob when gathered con- 

 tain a large per cent of moisture, and unless evaporation is rapid and the 

 corn kept so that there will be no re-absorption of moisture, the germ is 

 apt to mould. 



