114 FIELD CROPS 



after that date. Corn planted from such seed the follow- 

 ing year is likely to be killed by frost before the main 

 part of the crop is matured. 



Another advantage of early selection, while the plants are 

 all in their normal condition, is that it is possible at that 

 time to give some attention to the character of the plant on 

 which the ear grew, which is an important factor in getting 

 the best possible seed corn. 



144. How To Select. In the North, it is important to 

 select seed as soon as the crop is ripened and before it is 

 practical to husk the crop. The following method of selec- 

 tion is commonly practiced: Go into the field from which 

 the selection is to be made, with a common sack swung over 

 one shoulder by means of a string so that the open end will 

 be directly in front of the body and so that both hands will 

 be free to use. Then, by walking between two rows, ears 

 of desirable appearance can be examined and the good ones 

 husked and put into the sack. Selection can be made quite 

 rapidly in this way. It is desirable to have a wagon at the 

 end of the field into which the sack may be emptied when it 

 gets too heavy to carry comfortably. One man can easily 

 select five hundred ears of corn in a day in this way and do 

 reasonably careful work. 



Allowing fifty ears of this field-selected seed to each acre 

 which is to be planted the following spring, one would select 

 enough in this manner in one day to plant ten acres. Allow- 

 ing $2 a day for labor, the extra cost of seed corn saved in 

 this manner will not exceed 20 cents an acre, which is cer- 

 tainly very reasonable for the better grade of seed obtained. 



In the southern part of the corn belt, seed selection may 

 be deferred until the main part of the crop is husked. The 

 method usually followed in selecting seed at this time is to 

 have a box fastened on the side of the wagon box into which 



