130 Nebraska Agricultural Exj?. Station , Research Bui . 00 
seed ears were selected which showed a bright, clear germ and 
thereby promised good germination. A large number of ears 
were mixed for each selection. 
The results given in Table 54 indicate that corn which has 
been left standing in the field during the cold of winter may 
yield quite as well as specially fall selected seed, provided its 
germinative power has not been impaired. 
Prudence, however, suggests provision for the next year’s 
seed supply in the fall before the time of possible frost in- 
jury. Such early provision greatly reduces the anxiety and 
extra labor which accompany the selection from among frost 
injured ears. Frost injury and moisture content of the grain 
have been shown in Nebraska Research Bulletin No. 1G to be 
closely correlated. Therefore the time and manner of seed corn 
preservation may safely be made to vary in different seasons ac- 
cording to prevailing conditions. 
SELECTION OF SEED EARS FOR FREEDOM FROM ROOT-ROT 
DISEASES 
Root-rot diseases of corn and their control have been so 
stressed recently by a number of investigators that it seemed 
desirable to procure some information based on local experi- 
ments. In March, 1921,959 ears of Hogue's Yellow Dent corn and 
497 ears of Nebraska White Prize corn were tested for the pres- 
ence of root-rot diseases by the accredited germinator test de- 
scribed by Holbert and Ploffer in United States Department of 
Agriculture Farmers’ Bulletin No. 117G. Methods for testing 
and identification described by these authors were duplicated as 
nearly as possible. Acknowledgment is extended Dr. G. L. Pel- 
tier and Professor R. W. Goss, plant pathologists of the Ne- 
braska Experiment Station, for assistance in identifying the 
disease and reading the germinator tests. The corn used in 
these tests consisted of seed ears selected in the ordinary manner 
from Experiment Station fields used for continuing the ordinary 
“check” seed of these two varieties. Neither variety had ever 
been subjected to close selection for type or specialized breeding. 
IDENTIFICATION OF ROOT-ROT DISEASES BY THE GERMINATOR TEST 
The manner of testing is illustrated in figure 28 and figure 29. 
The rag doll consists of a sterilized muslin cloth, 12X54 inches, 
laid upon a sheet of water fibre paper of equal width and six 
inches greater length. The ten kernels removed spirally from 
each ear were laid germ down across the cloth in rows two 
