ON CORN 



One of the secrets was in germinating the coi 

 I obtained fresh stable manure in the proper s< 

 son, and mixed this with leaf-mould, about hi 

 and half. Corn placed in this when it was mo 

 and warm would germinate rapidly. 



When the young roots were from two to six 

 eight inches in length, and the tops had made 

 growth of half an inch or so, I would plant th( 

 sprouted grains in ordinary drills, dropping th( 

 in just as corn would be dropped, no attenti 

 whatever being paid to the way they fall — ^whett 

 with roots down or up. 



A half inch covering of dirt being put over i 

 sprouted grain, it was nothing unusual to fi 

 shoots coming through the soil the next morninj 



And this early start would enable the plants 

 grow marketable ears at least a week earlier th 

 they would have done had the seed been planted 

 the ordinary way. The growth of the plants coi 

 be further stimulated by placing a small quant 

 of bone meal, or of a good nitrogenous fertilij 

 containing a certain amount of phosphorus, in 1 

 soil about the roots. 



Preliminary to this method, I had made ( 

 tremely useful selections of the earliest-ripeni 

 ears for a number of seasons. 



Early Hybridizing Experiments 



My experiments of this early period were i 



[29] 



