190 CORN CROPS 



purchased and large varieties are used that do not ripen 

 grain but are barely mature ehough for silage when frost 

 comes. Leaming is the favorite with Hickory King, 

 Eureka Ensilage, Burrill and Whitman, and Evergreen 

 Sweet following. In fact, almost all the large dent 

 varieties are used to some extent for ensilage on the lower 

 elevations, while flints are grown on the higher lands. 



The importance of using acchmatcd seed has already 

 been pointed out (page 117). Acclimated native seed 

 should always be used for grain growing; and even for 

 ensilage, while it is not necessary that the grain should 

 mature, a better quality of silage is secured if the climatic 

 change is not too great. 



PREPARING SEED FOR PLANTING 



132. In the more humid part of the Corn Belt, corn is 

 very likely to decrease in germination. This necessitates 

 some precautions in curing the seed corn. In regions 

 where the fall and winter climate is clear and compara- 

 tively drjr, there is less difficulty, but abnormal conditions 

 occur often enough to justify special care of the seed corn 

 as a regular practice. 



CAUSES OF POOR GERMINATION 



133. Slow or imperfect drying of the mature corn, 

 often accompanied with freezing, seems to be the prin- 

 cipal cause of deterioration of vitality in the germ. When 

 corn is first " ripe " the kernels will usually contain about 

 30 per cent moisture. This would be about September 15 

 to October 1 in the Northern Central States. If the 

 weather is dry and favorable, the grain should dry down 

 to about 20 per cent moisture in the course of four to six 



