50 INDIAN CORN CULTURE. 



unsatisfactory growth. It would not even be 

 especially advisable to plant when the surface 

 soil has a temperature of 50 deg. F., unless quite 

 warm weather could be expected. 



Method of selecting seed.— There are two 

 common methods of selecting seed : one to pick 

 out desirable ears in the crib, the other to select 

 during husking. Either method is better than 

 none at all, but the best plan it seems to the 

 writer is as follows: Select a number of ears 

 of the most desirable type and plant this seed 

 in a field by itself, if possible where the plants 

 from it will not be impregnated by the pollen 

 from other corn. Carefully cut out all inferior 

 stalks and ears, and grow only selected plants 

 such as will produce the best ears. From these 

 plants select the seed ears to repeat the oper- 

 ation the next year, thus gradually developing 

 a uniform, high type ear and kernel. This 

 small patch of corn will soon become available 

 as the yearly source of seed. It is assumed, of 

 course, that the person who adopts this mode 

 of selection will practice the best of culture. 

 Where this system is intelligently followed 

 there is no need for corn to deteriorate in 

 quality from year to year. 



Preserving seed.— The best method of pre- 

 serving seed corn known to the writer is that 

 practiced by Mr. James Riley of Boone Co., 

 Ind. A small building is located on a hillside, 



