2 1 8 MAIZE 



CHAP, are not known to be of practical value in the selection of parent 

 ears for breeding purposes ; these include such fancy points as 

 well-covered tips, perfectly straight rows, very thin cobs, etc. 

 On this question we may think over the words of Dr. Hopkins 

 of the Illinois State Agricultural Experiment Station : — 



" There is some danger of corn breeders making too much 

 of what might be called fancy points in selecting seed ears. 

 We would learn the facts which are facts and not base our 

 selections too much upon mere ideas and opinions. For 

 example, it is not known that ears whose tips are well filled 

 and capped with kernels are the best seed ears. Indeed it is 

 not improbable that the selection of such seed ears will cause 

 the production of shorter ears and a reduced yield per acre. 

 It is true that the percentage of shelled corn from a given ear 

 is the greater, the greater the proportion of corn to the cob, 

 but our interest in that percentage is very slight compared to 

 that of yield per acre, and perhaps for the greatest possible 

 yield of shelled corn per acre it requires that the ears shall 

 have good-sized cobs. Possibly the corn which shall ultimately 

 surpass all others for yield per acre will have tapering and not 

 cylindrical ears. These are some of the points regarding which 

 men have some ideas and opinions, but as yet we have no 

 definite facts and we shall need several years more to obtain 

 absolute knowledge regarding some of these points. Let us 

 base our selections of seed-corn first upon known facts and 

 performance-records, and secondly upon what one may call 

 his ' type ' of corn." 



176. Methods of Selection. — The attempt to practise plant 

 breeding without sufficient knowledge of either the science or 

 the practice has led to disappointment and failure in many 

 cases. One mistake has been the buying of prize bags of 

 shelled seed at agricultural shows, irrespective of the pedigree 

 of the seed. Now prize bags of shelled maize generally con- 

 tain the largest grain the farmer is able to find ; the largest 

 grain is often borne on the smallest ears and therefore does 

 not represent high crop-producing power ; the largest grain 

 does not always produce good ears and good yields. Prize 

 maize may have been sifted from bulk grain, shelled in the 

 field, and often consists of the tailings which pass over the 

 riddles; it is sometimes produced by a very indifferent crop! 



Again, too much reliance has been placed upon seed-maize 



