1 FIRMER
and SKotftemi MamA.
PK(ORESSIVE FARMER-VOI. XX.
NO. 7.
NO. 6.
RALEIGH, N. C MARCH 28, 1905.
Weekly $1 a Year.
CORN GROWING TALKS.
IV. How and When to Select Your
Seed Corn.
BY C. B. WILLIAMS AND B. W. KILGOBE, OF
THKNOBTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT
OF AOBICULTUBE.
Messrs. Editors: The proper place
to select seed corn i3 in the field at
or just before gathering time and,
other things being equal, select ears
from those well developed and vigo
rous stalks that bear the largest
amount of shelled corn per stalk on
laud that is about the average in fer
tility, or a little above, the farm on
which it is proposed to grow the
corn. Neither select from the very
richest nor the very poorest spots in
the field. The field selection method
is the one we have used principally
in the improvement of Cocke's Pro
lific. Any method of selection that
does not take the plant as a whole is
not going to lead to the best results,
for the stalk and leaves which are the
factory of the plant determine the
size and quality of the ears.
Which Ear of Two Ears to Select for Seed
Purposes.
In the selection of seed corn from
stalks bearing two or more ears per
stalk, the selections should be made
from those stalks that have the ears
of a uniformly convenient height for
gathering and of those ears on the
stalks that possess the greatest num
ber of desirable characteristics. Most
all investigators in this country who
have made careful field tests and
kept accurate records with this ce
real are pretty uniformly of the opin
ion that the top ear, being usually
the best shaped and matured, is the
one, as a general rule, to be preferred
for seed purposes. However, with
our present knowledge, on the sub
ject we would not hesitate to select
for seed all the ears of stalks bearing
two and three ears per stalk, if the
ears were all well shaped and ma
tured, and the kernels were of the
proper shape, color and vitality. It
must be kept in mind that if it is
wished to produce a variety that will
bear more than one ear per stalk, se
lection should be made in the field
each fall from stalks bearing two or
more ears per stalk. What is meant
by a two eared variety of corn is or
should be, that when it is grown un
der the same conditions as some
other variety, such as Holt's Straw
terry, it will have more stalks bear
ing two ears than Holt's Strawberry,
a one-eared variety. Other factors
besides seed selection, play an im
portant part in determining the
yield of any variety of corn. They
are fertility and. physical condition
ff the soil, season, cultivation, etc.
Notwithstanding these facts, some
vusiiiuu aavertise tnat tney nave
certain varieties of corn that will
bcar two, three, four, five and even
,-.T
six and seven ears, as the case may
Je, per stalk, implying, if not stat-
AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE VALUE OF FARM MACHINERY.
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The illustration herewith shows the thirteen year old daughter of Mr. E. T. Mills, 21 miles from Ea
loigh operating a Deere Disc Cultivator on her father's cotton farm last season. The hand whom Mr. Mills
had employed for this work left, and the young lady came to her father's rescue. Had Mr. Mills depended
on hand cultivation, he would have been compelled to abandon part. of his crop.
Some of the best cotton in Wake County last year was that on a five-acre field on Mrs. E. S. Tucker's
"Waverly Farm" which was never hoed at all, but cultivated exclusively with smoothing harrows and cultivators.
rieties with euphonious and "catchy"
names, will do these wonderful and
impossible things regardless of pov
erty of the soil and unfavorable soil
and seasonal conditions. It is often
wise to let your neighbor do the buy
ing from the man that claims too
much, and do your own purchasing
from one that claims less and sup
plies seed that do more.
Uniformity in Height of Ears.
If all ears in a field are of approx
imately uniform height there is
greater probability of complete fer
tilization of all the grains of the ears
than would be the case if some of
the ears were high up on the stalks,
while others were comparatively near
the ground. An extremely high ear
tends to . late maturity, while one
very near the ground tends to ripen
early, hence will not make, as a gen
eral rule, a very -large growth. For
the ears in a field to be completely
fertilized or pollinated, the silks of
the ears should be ready to receive
the fallen grains (dust-like particles)
from the tassels as soon as they are
given off and disseminated by the
wind.
Acclimation of Corn.
Other things being equal, it is not
wise generally to import corn from
a distance," especially a different lat
itude, because it will not, as a general
rule, yield satisfactory returns until
it has become thoroughly acclimated,
which usually requires from two to
three or more years. We have had
many striking instances of this fact
in our tests of varieties of corn
brought from the Northwestern
States. None of these varieties have
done very well with us, although
they are the most prolific ones in the
Northwest. This is the reason that
it is urged in another part of this
series of articles that the history of
all seed corn purchased be ascertain
ed from the dealer. Neither is it
prudent to buy seed corn that was
grown in the extreme South, for it,
being accustomed to a longer grow
ing period than we have in North
Carolina, will be liable to be caught
by frost and thereby give a dimin
ished vield of immature grain, espe
cially it fall comes early. , The small
yield of the Northwestern corns, on
the other hand, being accustomed to
a shorter growing period than we
have is forced to maturity at an ear
lier period than is conducive to the
largest yields in our climate.
White Versus Yellow Corns.
In our experiments, we have got
ten the higher yields of shelled corn
per acre from the white than from
the yellow varieties of corn. This
greater yield may be due to the fact
that the Southern people, being par
tial as a general rule, to white corns,
have improved them more than they
have the yellow varieties. From the
standpoint of chemical composition,
the yellow corns are no richer in
feeding value than the white corns,
which fact is contrary to a common
belief prevalent in this and other
States. . The only difference in the
two is that there is coloring matter
present in the kernels of the yellow
corn which is not found in the ker
nels of white varieties of corn.
Not Mr. Irwin.
It . seems that some one forged the
signature of Mr. J. M. Irwin, of
EutherfordCo., N. C, sending us an
inquiry which was answered in our.
issue of March 7th. The letter was
not written by Mr. Irwin, he tells us ;
somebody should be feeling very
mean and small for using his name
in such fashion.
The six chair factories of Thom
asville are making 'i,000 chairs a day
and a new factory will add 500 more
to the output, making 01,000 a
month and 1,092,000 a year.
v;