Corn Investigations 
27 
widely disseminated, and tlieir name is more suggestive of the 
region to which they are adapted. 
In the conduct of corn variety tests, it is difficult to elimi- 
nate from the seed the qualifying effect of local adaptations, 
especially when obtained from distant points. Yield differences 
in such tests are frequently the result of the combined effects of 
variety difference and local adaptation. Variety performance is 
subject to variation due to the source of the seed. Table 4 re- 
ports the yields during a four-year period of fourteen varieties, 
subject to local adaptation. 
HOME GROWN VERSUS IMPORTED SEED CORN 
During the three years 1915-1917, seed of acclimated corn 
being grown by ten local Lancaster County farmers living 
within five miles of the Experiment Station was compared for 
yield w T ith seed corn obtained from seven more distant eastern 
Nebraska farmers, most of whom were making a specialty of 
seed corn production. The object was to determine the varia- 
tion in the inherent productivity of corn grown by different 
farmers in a community such as this one, and the likelihood of 
advantageous substitution of some other local or imported corn. 
The results are given in Table No. 5. 
Of the ten selections from local farmers, six yielded within 
2 y 2 bushels, or 4 per cent, as much as the average of the two 
standard Experiment Station varieties, viz, Hogue’s Yellow 
Dent and Nebraska White Prize. The other four varieties 
yielded respectively 3.2, 4.1, 5.6, and 6 bushels, or 5.1, 6.5, 8.9, 
and 9.5 per cent, less than this average. Of the seven varieties 
from a distance, four yielded within one and one-half bushels, 
or 3 per cent, as much as the average for the two standard Ex- 
periment Station varieties. The other three yielded 4.6, 8.8, and 
15 bushels, or 7.3, 14.0, and 23.8 per cent, less, respectively. 
The results suggest that the majority of farmers in a com- 
munity are probably growing corn of about equal productivity. 
A few have corn sufficiently inferior to invite substitution. No 
individual farmer’s corn is likely to be very outstanding in its 
superiority. 
The best imported seed did not surpass the best local seed, 
which is rather encouraging for the use of home grown seed 
corn. The least productive of the imported varieties was far 
inferior to the lowest yielding home grown kind, which suggests 
the need for great caution when procuring seed corn from a 
distance. 
