VI. 



JUDGING AND SELECTION 261 



the grains are planted with the point downward and barely CHAP, 

 covered with the sand. They are arranged and marked in 

 such a way that the particular ear from which any set of three 

 was taken can always be determined, so that ears with a poor 

 germination may be discarded. A small plate or saucer or a 

 sheet of glass are used to cover the germinating grain to 

 check evaporation, and if the test is made in cold weather it 

 should be carried on in a warm room. Daily examinations 

 should be made and a note taken of the sets which take long- 

 est to germinate. A germination of 97 per cent in five days 

 is the usual standard. 



221. Colour of Cob. — White maize should have a white 

 cob. Yellow breeds of maize usually have red cobs. Some 

 breeds of yellow, however, always have white cobs ; this is 

 particularly the case with most of the yellow flint breeds 

 {Congo, Botman, New England 8-row, etc.) and with Golden King, 

 Hawkesbury Champion, Yellow Horsetooth, and German Yellow. 

 A red cob in a white breed or a white cob in a yellow breed, 

 excepting in the cases noted above, is an indication of careless 

 selection, and the exhibit is disqualified accordingly. 



222. Circumference of Ears. — An exceptionally thin ear 

 usually indicates shallow grain, and an abnormally thick ear 

 indicates an unusually thick cob ; both will have been scored 

 down when considering depth of grain, uniformity of exhibit 

 and yield of grain per ear, while the lack of proportion will 

 have received further consideration in scoring for length of ear. 



Where competition is keen it is customary to take into 

 consideration the circumference of the ears as compared with 

 their length. The standard is approximately as J\ inches 

 to 10 inches of length, or 8 inches to 12 inches, but this varies 

 to some extent with the breed. As in the case of length 

 of ear, the excess or deficiency of each ear as compared with 

 the standard, are added together, but the cut made for each 

 inch so obtained is only -25. A mechanic's small steel tape, 

 divided into millimetres, is applied at a point about one- 

 third the distance from the butt. With a little practice these 

 measurements can be taken with ease and some degree of 

 rapidity, but it is slow work at best, and as it is of minor 

 value it is usually omitted unless necessitated, as was said 

 before, by close competition. 



