ILLINOIS DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 235 



Some of these points can be determined by inspection; some require 

 actual counts and measurements or weights. 



The corn from each of the detasseled rows which have not been 

 rejected by inspection is now harvested. First, all of the ears on a row 

 which appear to be good ears and which are borne on good plants in a 

 good position and with good ear shanks and husks are harvested, placed 

 in a bag with the number of the row, and finally weighed together with 

 the remainder of the crop from the same row. The total weight of ear 

 corn which the row yields is the primary factor in determining the 10 best 

 rows from which all of the 200 ears for the next year's selection much be 

 taken; and yet no corn breeder should follow even this rule absolutely 

 or blindly. If it should happen that one of these ten best yielding rows, 

 although slightly higher in yield, is nevertheless plainly inferior to some 

 other row in the number of good ears produced, the row selected should 

 be changed accordingly. Yield is of first importance, but it should not 

 exclude all other points. It is more practical and profitable to produce 

 99 pounds of good ears than 100 pounds of nubbins. Other things being 

 equal, or nearly so, preference is also given to the rows nearest the center 

 of the field, for reasons already explained and well illsutrated in Table 4. 



In the final selection of the 40 seed ears we prefer to have as many 

 as possible of the ten best field rows represented, and we frequently sac- 

 rifice slight advantages in chemical composition for the sake of having 

 such a large representation, because of the possible future evil effects of 

 too close in-breeding. 



Each lot of 20 ears (more or less) from each of the ten best rows 

 and finally each single ear of the 40 seed ears ultimately selected is kept 

 labeled, and permanent records are made of the number and the descrip- 

 tion of the ear, the composition of the grain, performance record of the 

 row, etc., so that as the breeding is continued an absolute pedigree is 

 established, on the female side, for every ear of corn which may be pro-* 

 duced from this seed so long as the records are made and preserved. We 

 also know absolutely that we have good breeding on the male side 

 although the exact individual pedigrees of the males cannot be known and 

 recorded. The corn which we first began to breed (see bulletin No. 55, 

 Illinois Experiment Station) we are this season growing in five different 



