In Funk’s nurseries each native strain 
is subjected to the acid test of inbreed- 
ing. Inbreeding literally tears the strain 
apart, exposing its weaknesses and its 
strong points to scientific study and 
measurement. The methods are care- 
fully charted and organized. Along the 
road to new discoveries countless thou- 
sands of plants are discarded because 
they fail to establish new standards of 
excellence. But the results are well worth 
while. For out of this mass of experi- 
mental inbreds come those few rare 
and potent inbreds that contribute im- 
provement in economic characteristics. 
These inbreds put into hybrid combi- 
nations can stand up under extreme heat 
and drouth for longer periods, have a 
higher degree ofresistance to disease and 
insect enemies—and, above all, they 
carry the precious inherited factors which 
contribute to high yields of sound corn. 
But the job is only half done when su- 
perior inbreds are found and improved. Four inbreds 
are usually fused together to make a hybrid. Every 
year, the Funk corn-breeding staff makes hundreds 
upon hundreds of experimental hybrid combinations. 
Each combination carries the promise of becoming 
a superior strain of corn. Yet ninety-nine percent 
fail to meet the exacting specifications set by Funk 
corn breeders. ONLY THOSE HYBRIDS THAT HELP 
ESTABLISH NEW STANDARDS OF EXCELLENCE ARE 
SELECTED FOR COMMERCIAL USE. ONLY THOSE FEW 
ARE GIVEN THE NAME OF G-HYBRIDS. 
From the tested inbred to its use in a proven G-Hybrid 
is a matter of at least five years, and probably more. 
Throughout this entire period, Funk’s corn breeders 
deal largely with hidden characteristics. How then can 

Controlled inheritance—tas- 
sels are covered to provide a 
source of pure pollen and ear 
shoots are covered with sacks 
to prevent the silks from being 
fertilized by pollen from other 
than the desired source. 
they be sure that a hybrid issuperior? The 
answer is found in Funk’s nation-wide 
system of 3,000 proving plots. Actual 
performance under a wide range of con- 
ditions and seasons is the deciding fac- 
tor. Performance requirements in these 
proving plots are rigid and each detail 
is carefully charted and analyzed. Supe- 
rior performance achieved time and time 
again provides the answer. 
There are other equally important ad- 
vantages that come from Funk’s nation- 
wide system of proving plots. In a single 
season Funk’s Hybrids are subjected 
to an extensive variety of soils, insect 
attacks, diseases and weather conditions. 
No local area could possibly supply this 
variety. Performance records built up 
under these conditions reveal far more 
than those established in only one local 
area. ‘The advance of an insect enemy, 
for instance, may be successfully met by 
the discovery of resistant hybrids years 
before that insect becomes a serious 
problem in other communities. Funk 
corn breeders are constantly meeting 
and solving problems of this nature. 
The work of developing newhybridsand 
testing them is accomplished in the same way that 
the army introduces and tests a new gun. First the 
gun is designed, built and perfected. Then it is sent 
to the testing range where it is fired until it literally 
falls apart. It is only as the gun is exerted beyond its 
capacity that its inner weaknesses appear. It’s the 
same way with a new hybrid. After it is created in 
the Funk nursery, it is sent to the testing grounds 
where it is subjected to much more rigorous condi- 
tions than would ever be encountered under regular 
farming conditions. Then Funk corn breeders can 
study its inner weaknesses and correct them, 
Additional proof of the value of G-Hybrids is found in re- 
markable series of official yield records listed on page 5. 
Transferring pollen from a tassel bag to the silk by means of a pollen gun, one of the basic procedures 
in modern corn breeding. Hand pollination in the Funk nurseries is accomplished in this manner. 

