MAIZE 



MAIZE 



407 



suspended in sacks in a loft has deterio- 

 rated greatly in that length of time. 



At the present time, germination tests 

 of each ear to be used as seed are being 

 advocated very strongly by experiment 

 stations and corn-breeders, and the prac- 

 tice is being followed by the most enter- 

 prising and successful corn-growers. 

 There can be no doubt that there is 

 great benefit in testing each ear to be 

 used as seed, provided the supply of seed 

 did not mature properly or has not been 

 preserved in the best way. By means 

 of a large number of germinating boxes, 

 the germinating power of individual ears 

 can be tested without much expense of 

 money or time. It should be remembered 

 that a good-sized ear of corn will plant 

 a tenth to an eighth of an acre, and each 

 ear that is found to germinate feebly 

 saves the planting of that much ground 

 to seed that would be sure to return but 

 a small yield. 



It is a fact that the average corn- 

 grower plows, harrows, plants and cul- 

 tivates one -fourth to one -third of his 

 corn acreage without receiving anything 

 for his labor. This is because of the 

 vacant hills, and hills that do not contain 

 the number of stalks that the fertility 

 of the soil demands. By not making sure 

 of the perfect germination of every ear 

 of corn used as seed, corn- growers not only are 

 losing the use of one-fourth of their land, but are 

 expending labor on the land without any returns. 

 Many have become so accustomed to seeing very 

 poor stands that if three-fourths of a proper stand is 



obtained they 

 are of the 

 opinion that 

 they have 

 secured a 

 good stand of 

 stalks. 



The testing 

 of each indi- 

 vi d u a 1 ear 

 must not be 

 taken as a 

 remedy for 

 the neglect of 

 seed preser- 

 vation. N 

 amount o f 

 seed - testing 

 in the spring 

 can make 

 good seed of 

 that which 

 has been 

 poorly pre- 

 served. Al- 

 though there 

 Fig. 618. Root system of a com plant may be found 

 four feet tall. in a lot of 



Fig. 617. Gennination box ready for ezamlnation. Notice the contrast 

 between the kernels from ears 1 and 3; also between 32 and 34, 

 (P. G. Holden, Iowa.) 



poorly preserved seed certain ears each kernel of 

 which will grow, it should be remembered that 

 the same ponditions that have caused other ears of 

 the lot to fail to germinate, have weakened the 

 vitality of those that do germinate. They do not 

 germinate so strongly nor produce so well as they 

 would have done had they been better preserved. 

 Some tests of well-preserved seed in comparison 

 with that kept in cribs have shown that the one 

 factor only, of preservation, is responsible for a 

 difference in yield of sixteen or more bushels per 

 acre. The important feature of these tests consists 

 in the fact that the increased production of well- 

 preserved seed is not due to its better germination 

 or a better stand of stalks in the field, but to the 

 fact that the stalks are more vigorous. While a 

 test of the germinating power of each individual 

 ear is very profitable, with a supply of seed con- 

 taining some ears that do not germinate perfectly, 

 it is more profitable to select and preserve the 

 seed in such a way that it will contain no such 

 ears. Of course, as a safeguard, it is advisable to 

 test one hundred or more ears of seed selected and 

 preserved in the best way possible, but as it is 

 usually found that the seed so preserved germi- 

 nates perfectly or nearly so, it is often found use- 

 less to make the test of each ear of the lot. 



Another very important factor in securing the 

 proper stand of stalks is the grading of the seed 

 ears. They should be selected or graded to a uniform 

 size of kernel, and this is readily done before the 

 ears are shelled. No corn-planter can drop the 

 proper number of kernels in each hill unless the 



