EXPERIMENTS IN BREEDING SWEET CORN. 



295 



C. An experiment regarding selection for carliness of matu- 

 rity. In the 1908 ear-to-row test the row which was by far the 

 earliest in the plot was No. 131, and the row which was latest in 

 maturing was No. 133. The differences between the two in this 

 regard are indicated by the following notes : 



Chaeactee. 



Tassels well out 



Silks well out 



Silks dry 



First ears ready to harvest for mature seed. . 

 Ready for general harvest of mature seed ears 



Row 131 



July 9 

 July 20 

 August 3 

 August 20 

 August 21 



Row 133. 



.July 15 

 July 27 

 August 12 

 September 4 

 September 12 



The seed from both rows was fully matured when harvested. 

 This is an important point to be kept in mind in relation to the 

 discussion of the results below. 



In 1909 a piece of land 144 feet by 50 feet (= about 1-6 acre) 

 was divided into two equal plots IV A and IV B. Both were 

 treated in exactly the same way in preparation for planting and 

 given an even coat of manure and the same amount of fertilizer 

 (75 lbs. on each plot). The rows were as usual 3 feet apart and 

 the hills 18 inches. The soil was of the same character over the 

 whole piece. The corn was planted May 20, 1909, 4 kernels to 

 the hill, and the corn was thinned to leave 3 stalks to the hill. 

 Plot IV A was planted with a random sample of the seed har- 

 vested from the early row No. 131, and plot IV B with a random 

 sample of the seed harvested from the late row No. 133. It is 

 important to remember that the seed for IV A was not a selection 

 from the earliest plants of row 131, and that for IV B was not 

 a selection of the latest from row 133. In both cases the seed 

 was a random sample. 



Results From Experiment A. 



The corn in this experiment germinated well, and an even 

 stand was obtained in each of the sub-plots. Of course every 

 kernel planted did not come, but the average lag in number 

 of stalks per hill behind number of kernels per hill was sub- 

 stantially the same over the whole piece. As the corn grew 

 the plot as a whole presented a striking appearance. On the 

 side where there were 7 kernels to the hill the growth of leaves 

 was rank and luxurious. At the other extreme the corn had 

 a very thin appearance, though what there was of it was thrifty 

 enough. 



