Freezing Injury oe Seed Corn 
( 
plants before autumn frosts, and (2) by selection of the drier 
and more mature ears later in the season. Such late varieties 
may often be advantageously replaced by securing seed of some 
earlier variety. 
17. The conditions are very exceptional in which a satis- 
factory seed supply cannot be obtained by any of the three 
following methods: (1) Special early field selection before 
any likelihood of frost. (2) Selecting seed late in September, 
or early in October while husking corn in the regular way for 
early feed. (3) Selecting seed while picking corn to crib in the 
forepart of the husking season. The relative merits of these 
three methods will vary according to conditions. 
Crib selection of seed corn may be practiced as a last resort 
if provision for a seed supply by other methods has been over- 
looked. In years when corn matures well it is a very good and 
safe practice to select sufficient seed for two years’ planting. 
18. The viability of seed corn should be ascertained before 
planting time. This may be done in a general way by a general 
germination test or by observing the color of the germ. Dark 
or discolored germs possess little or no vitality. If either of 
these methods indicate a rather low vitality, a more severe 
elimination of unsound seed should be made by the individual 
ear germination test. 
19. By a comparison of the yields of corn following years 
of serious seed corn injury with the, average yield of corn for 
Nebraska during the last 28 years, it seems that predictions of 
low yields following years of severe seed injury are not justified. 
20. Corn harvested early in the fall and given special care 
in preservation will not outyield seed which has been exposed in 
the field to the cold winter without special care, provided both 
are selected for high germinative qualities. As an average for 
three years, 1915 to 1917, seed corn harvested by special selection 
from the field in September, November, and March, and given 
good care after selection, yielded respectively 48.2, 49.6, and 51.2 
bushels per acre, while seed saved from the same field during the 
regular process of husking in November yielded 50.6 bushels 
per acre. 
21. In a comparison of ear types of Nebraska White Prize 
corn during the four years 1914 to 1917, a long, slender, smooth 
type of ear yielded 58.8 bushels per acre, which is 0.7 bushels 
more than the original corn. 7.4 bushels more than the large 
rough ears, 1.7 bushels more than the short rough ears, and 
2.1 bushels more than the short smooth ears. One may conclude 
that this long, slender, smooth type possesses highly satisfactory 
