164 
J. STECKLER SEED CO., LTD., ALMANAC AND 
A Few Specialties 
TOO LATE FOR 
RATEKIN’S PRIDE OF NISHNA CORN. 
The Standard of Perfection.—The follow- 
ing description was written by Mr. Ratekin, 
the son of the originator of this corn: 
This now famous variety of yellow corn 
was the first variety of corn originated 
by my father over forty years ago when 
he lived on the farm, long before we en- 
gaged in the seed business, and was the 
first yellow corn introduced by us 28 years 
ago when we began the seed corn business. 
At that time, in making a selection of 
ears for a photographic illustration, we 
did not have in mind the present day 
ideas of so-called seed corn specialists, but 
simply went to our seed corn house and 
selected out three ordinary common ears 
of good size that fairly represented the 
variations in type and character of this 
corn. AS every one Knows, about every 
human being has a similar appearance, but 
seldom, if ever, are there any two people 
that look so nearly alike but what they 
can in some way be distinguished apart. 
The same rule applies to corn. All ears of 
corn have a similar resemblance, but out of 
the millions of bushels of corn handled by 
us, we do not remember to have ever 
found two ears of corn when laid down 
side by side but what we could see or find 
a difference somewhere. The stalks grow 
from 8 to 12 feet high, dependent on the 
land—hill or bottom ground—stalks strong 
and robust, very leafy, broad blades and 
plenty of them, making an excellent fod- 
der or ensilage corn. Roots almost equal 
to that of cane sorghum, always resisting 
wind and storm and standing up well. Ears 
very uniform in size and shape, cylindrical 
from butt to tip, running from 9 to 12 
inches long and 7 to 8 inches in circum- 
ference, containing from 16 to 22 rows of 
deep kernels solidly set on a medium 
small red cob, shelling 86 to 88 per cent. 
grains and often even more. A wagon 
load of this corn weighs out two to four 
bushels more than ordinary varieties of 
corn, thus proving its solidity. It is a 
golden yellow, and a big crib full of it is 
a beautiful sight to behold. Its potency 
or power to reproduce is so great that 
neither dry or wet weather influences its 
growth and maturity as it does many other 
sorts. By long and continued selection, 
the barren, weak and sickly stalks have 
been eliminated, which has materially in- 
creased its yielding qualities. It is the 
earliest maturing large-eared corn known 
or grown, always making itself safely and 
soundly beyond danger of frost in from 90 
to 100 days of good corn weather. Our 
word for it, it will please you in every 
respect. Price, per quart 30c.; gallon 60c.; 
peck $1.00; bushel $3.00. 
LYON WHITE VELVET BEAN. 
(Stizolobium Niveum,) 
The Lyon Velvet Bean is a very ram- 
pant-growing annual legume, often making 
vines 60 to 80 feet in length. It grows 
well on soils too light and sandy for most 
other legumes and produces an immense 
amount of forage which is excellent feed 
for cattle and hogs. It also makes very 
good hay if cut soon after the first 
flowers appear, but the vines are so long 
CLASSIFICATION. 
and tangled that it is difficult to harvest 
and the plant is not recommended for that 
purpose. It is an excellent crop for newly 
cleared lands, as its growth is so rapid 
and dense that it smothers out the grass 
and brings the soil into a cultivable con- 
dition much better than will cowpeas. It 
also has great value for green manuring 
and as a restorative for soils needing nitro- 
gen and humus. The proportion of ni- 
trogen contained in the vines is about the 
same as in cowpeas, and as the yield is 
much greater the total amount of nitrogen 
and humus added to the soil is corre- 
spondingly larger. A crop of 3 tons will 
add as much nitrogen to the soil as will 
a ton of cottonseed meal, while the amount 
of humus will be 3 times as great. 
The planting should not be done too 
early, but at about the same time as cot- 
ton, as the beans do not make a thrifty 
growth until the soil has become well 
warmed. One bushel of the seed will plant 
3 to 4 acres. The vines must be given 
some sort of support to keep them up from 
the ground or they will not make the most 
vigorous growth nor will they fruit well. 
The principal value of the beans is for 
Winter grazing and for that purpose it is 
one of the best crops which can be grown 
on the light soils and in the long season 
of the immediate Gulf Coast and Florida. 
The crop should be allowed to grow until 
December or until killed by frost, after 
which it can be grazed through the 
Winter, as the vines, leaves and pods de- 
cay very slowly and remain palatable a 
long time. The yield of seed from a fair 
growth of vines well matured is very 
heavy, from 25 to 40 bushels per acre, and 
100 pounds of the pods will shell about 40 
pounds of beans. The beans need not be 
shelled for feeding cattle and make an 
excellent grain feed for Winter use. When 
grown in Southern Florida some of the 
earliest maturing pods are likely to open a 
few weeks after ripening and so a few of 
the seed may be lost, but that trouble has 
not been seen farther north, and in any 
case the loss is very slight, especially if 
the field is grazed by hogs. Price, pint 
40c.; quart 45c.; gallon $1.25; peck $2.00; 
bushel $5.00. 
Louisiana, July, 1913. 
I want to state that I bought an assort- 
ment of vegetable seeds from you and 
every package was received in good con- 
dition and everything produced accord- 
ingly. I must say that Steckler’s Seeds 
give the most satisfaction and the best 
results, and my profits average $250 to $300 
from $5.50 to $7.00 worth of seeds. I 
recommend Mr. Steckler to anybedy who 
desires to plant truck, also recommend 
him for poultry and eggs, as all I have 
ever gotten from his firm has given entire 
satisfaction. Mrs. L. Desforges, Jr. 
Mississippi, February, 1913. 
The seeds I bought from you are the 
best I have ever planted and they gave me 
good satisfaction. The book is also fine, it 
tells how to plant and what to plant. 
John P,. Fatzer. 
Steckler’s Seeds Are the Best. 
