THE SEED. 51 



SO that one can drive up to the end of it on a 

 level with the second floor. The corn is un- 

 loaded on this floor, which extends the length 

 of the house. This only serves as a sort of 

 platform, with an opening entirely along each 

 side about six feet wide, which is the top of the 

 crib. Below this floor is a stove near the cen- 

 ter of one end of the building, with pipe run- 

 ning the length of the house. A fire is kept in 

 this stove and the corn placed overhead is 

 thoroughly dried, after which it is shoveled 

 into the cribs on each side, which extend to the 

 floor below, wjiere it is ready for sacking and 

 shipping. The most favorable conditions for 

 preserving seed are thus insured. This method 

 can be practiced on a smaller scale with ease 

 by hanging the seed corn on the wall of a room 

 back of the stove, where a flre is kept from har- 

 vesting to planting time. The seed should be 

 kept perfectly dry, and selections from the crib 

 in the spring may be unsatisfactory. 



The old method of braiding a number of ears 

 together at husking time and hanging them up 

 on the side of the barn is better than selecting 

 from the crib in the spring. A dry attic or 

 inside of barn is a better place than the out- 

 side exposure. At Purdue we find it satisfac- 

 tory to put seed corn on the ear in common 

 brown coffee sacks, which are hung from the 

 rafters to cure, away from rats and mice. 



