EXPERIMENTS WITH CORN 133 



LABORATORY EXERCISES 



1. Select from a large number of ears in the field, in the crib, or in 

 the seed-house, 10 ears of corn as nearly alike as possible in the follow- 

 ing respects : Cobs the same length, size, color and shape ; tips and butts 

 well filled; rows of kernels straight; the same number of rows on each 

 cob; kernels of the same depth, shape and color, with uniformly large 

 germs, and broad, well-filled tips. Note the large number of ears it is 

 necessary to handle to secure the ten-ear sample, also the great ten- 

 dency to vary. 



2. Test 100 ears for germination by the individual ear method as 

 described in this chapter. Make a note of the materials and time used 

 to make the test-box, put the 100 ears to test, and read the results. 

 How much more corn must one secure at 50 cents per bushel to pay for 

 the time and materials used in making the test? Do you think it pays 

 to test corn? How many acres will 100 ears of corn plant in check 

 rows 3 feet 8 inches apart each way, and 3 kernels dropped per hill? 



3. Make a seed-corn tree as described in this chapter. Note cost 

 of materials and time required. How much did it cost you? How 

 many ears of corn will a tree 6 feet high and with 8 rows of nails hold? 

 How many such seed-corn trees would you need to store enough seed- 

 corn for your own use? Hang up some seed-corn by the double string 

 method also described and illustrated in this chapter. 



4. When the corn is ripe in your neighborhood, go into a field, 

 select an average row, and count the number of stalks in 100 hills that 

 have produced ears. (Count as hills each place where there should 

 have been a hill, whether any stalks are there or not.) Husk the corn 

 and weigh it. Secure also the yield from the best hill and from the 

 poorest. At what rate does the corn yield to the acre? How much 

 would it have yielded had there been a perfect stand of 3 bearing stalks 

 per hill? How much corn would have been produced to the acre had 

 there been a perfect stand and every hill yielded as much' as the best 

 hill? 



5. Secure kernels of corn from several different samples, soak them 

 in warm water, then remove the hulls and make comparisons. See 

 Fig. 39. Which kernels have the largest amount of horny starch? 

 Which have the most white, or crown, starch? Which variety or sample 

 do you believe contains the largest percentage of protein? Which is 

 worth most per pound for feed? Secure some immature kernels and 

 compare them in the same manner with thoroughly matured kernels. 



