EXPERIMENTS IN BREEDING SWEET CORN. 277 



The season of 1909 was an extremely unfavorable one for 

 corn. Following a cold and wet spring the early part of the 

 summer was characterized by a long succession of cloudy, cold 

 days. The result was that sweet corn throughout the State got 

 a very bad start. The relative amount of growth made in July 

 was much below the normal for a favorable season. This, 

 coupled with the fact that the late spring delayed the planting, 

 made the sweet corn through the State in general mature late. 

 To make the season about as unsatisfactory as possible from the 

 corn grower's standpoint killing frosts came early in the fall and 

 severely damaged the crop. These seasonal conditions must be 

 kept in mind throughout the following discussion. 



The data regarding the planting of the ear-to-row test plot 

 in 1909 are as follows : The plot, as has been said, was located 

 on the "intervale" as in 1908. Only Type I corn was used in 

 the planting. One ear was planted to a row as before. The 

 plot was smaller and the rows shorter than in 1908. The rows 

 were 3 feet apart and the hills 18 inches. The plot measured 

 148 feet X 75 feet, 49 rows being planted. The land used was 

 in grass in 1908. It was given a good coat of manure, plowed 

 in the spring of 1909 and in general given the same treatment 

 as described for the 1908 ear-to-row test. Bradley's Corn Phos- 

 phate was applied at the rate of 900 lbs. to the acre. This was 

 put in the hills in the way described for the 1908 work. The 

 plot was planted May 20, 1909. In this year's work the thin- 

 ning was done so as to leave 2 stalks to the hill rather than one 

 as in 1908. The cultivation was otherwise as in 1908. 



The data regarding the ears planted in the ear-to-row test in 

 1909 are given in Table 5. There is also included in the last 

 2 columns of this table a statement of the vield of each row. 



