\LPH M-AINSWORTH | | COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT: THE CORNFIELD THE DAY AFTER PLANTING Notice the shallow furrows made by the furrow openers attached to the planter runners PRACTICAL CORN CULTURE Written especially for the CORN BELT FARMERS BY W. T. AINSWORTH Actively Engaged in Farming for Forty Years, and Still at It. RALPH M. AINSWORTH ‘ Secretary Illinois Corn Growers’ and Stockmen’s Convention. Member Illinois Seed Corn Breeders’ Association. ILLUSTRATED PUBLISHED BY W. T. AINSWORTH & SONS MASON CITY, ILLINOIS SB Maks ‘*Oh, the corn, the royal corn, within whose golden heart there is of health and strength for all the nations. ’’ Ka-Governor Oglesby. COPYRIGHT, 1914 BY RALPH M. AINSWORTH € a ® eo ‘esa < FEB -2 1914 W. B. CONKEY COMPANY CHICAGO ©ClA862474 Ga a. PREFACE made in the cultivation and care of corn, both for seed and market. During this time few books have been written which have kept up with this progress. What has been written has pertained largely to the attacks of insect and fungous pests and to the selection and care of corn for seed. Very little that would be of practical benefit to the busy farmer has been written on the culture of corn. We have long felt the need of such a book and have at length been induced by our friends to attempt the work ourselves. The result is seen in the volume now placed before the public. Our aim has been to make this book up-to-date in every particular and to cover the entire practice of corn growing, from the cutting of the stalks in the spring to the selection and testing of the seed for next year’s crop. We have purposely started with the preparation of the seed bed because we know that some readers will start this book and will not finish it. If only a little is read, we are especially anxious that the reader get that part pertaining to the growing of the crop. The writers are both actively engaged in farming seven hundred acres of land, and W. T. Ainsworth has been growing eorn on his Cloverdale farm for over thirty-five years. No apology is offered for the manner in which the subject is treated. The public must be the sole judge as to whether the book is deserving of commendation. We do not claim originality for all of our methods since 3 vo, the past ten years great progress has been 4 PREFACE many of our operations have been suggested by neighbors and the reading of bulletins and farm papers. Changing conditions, from year to year, demand new and different methods of culture. The farmer, to keep abreast of the times, must be ready to adopt new ideas. If any of us should disregard the opinion of others and depend solely upon his own judgment for ten years, he would find that he would be left far behind in the march of competition. We wish gratefully to acknowledge the sympathy, encouragement and suggestions which we have received from farmers in Illinois and in other states. To mention each one would be out of the question, but our gratitude for their kindness is none the less sincere. Such rapid progress is being made in the methods of growing farm crops that this book will undoubtedly be a back number in less than five years. For this reason it is our intention to rewrite it every two years. If the reader will send a return stamped envelope we shall be glad to answer any questions, In our power, in regard to conserving soil fertility and the culture of corn. W. T. anp RatpH M. AINSworRTH. SUNNY SIDE FARMSTEAD, Mason City, Illinois. January, 1914. CONTENTS PART I. CULTURE Page RRR EUU ED Se Ry oo cleo ct erie a, Mg alice of dis goal a eTacmiaiw ia wuss & s He o Siece (5 meee cammrt es: eee EEN sid gaia) acts @ “are 2G 25) So deena aie wae Rew Balen, CMe 12 TE RSIS 62 SRE lies a a Se BT APO” ee ke eee 29 MMT RL ARDY Uta ctna bets patses evans ga. e: wie eh Wesel c ARN ees wiovers eo 0d BARS 0 9 ee 48 PART II. BUILDING UP THE LAND ene bn OF Warih) CEOS. gong < -eiae 2.8 vie ces opnraly wie sine» Sealesie wie 57 OE ESO de pratt ey EA a a 68 Stable and ee EERO, UA TUTLP ESN hiarg) at Std Sie a ick sah ele s,s. d Gas Kies ae Bie ack 83 TAI Clie LAME S LONE oo isats 2 vin ais 2 a Oey, Sie ooo oak ela ed we alee 90 PART III. THE SEED Selecting the Best Ears for Seed......... gee esses cnet, Laat 95 ee ee Tew Ge OA, Tarte. ‘‘Distance Between Hills.’’ Illinois Bulletin 126. Hume, Center and Hegnauer. ‘*Suecessful Corn Culture.’’ Prof. P. G. Holden. ‘*Soil Book.’’ Frank I. Mann. ‘‘How to Grow 100 Bushels of Corn per Acre on Worn land.?? Wm.>C. s5mith. ‘“‘The Fertility of the Land.’’ Isaae Phillips Roberts. PA ES BUILDING UP THE LAND es CHAR THE Vv Tue Rotration oF Farm Crops The rotation of crops is one of the best established prin- ciples of modern agricultural science; also, one of the most important. It would seem that the early settlers on the rich virgin prairies of the Central West gave little or no thought to the possibility that the wonderful fertility of the land would ever be exhausted. Crop after crop of corn planted on the same fields for many seasons in succession did not, for a long time, diminish the yield. After fifteen or twenty years of such cultivation, the lands failed to respond as at first. Yields fell off and lands that formerly produced from sixty to seventy bushels of corn per acre dropped in yields to as low as twenty-five and thirty bushels per acre. Insects began to multiply in alarming num- bers and attacked crops. The land also became ‘‘corn sick’’ and in times of drouth, corn fired from lack of moisture. More progressive farmers began to see that the growing of corn year after year on the same land was a losing game, so short rotations of corn and oats were tried. These rota- tions, while giving increased yields for a time, were soon found to be lacking since the soil continued to grow less 57 58 PRACTICAL CORN CULTURE productive. About thirty years ago clover began to find a place in the Corn Belt rotation. The benefits resulting from growing this legume were very marked, especially when it was grown for the first time. At the present time nine-tenths of the corn land is so deficient in nitrogen and humus, that a rotation containing at least one leguminous crop is not only profitable but necessary. Today a rotation of crops will be found on all the farms of the Corn Belt. To be sure, this rotation varies from an intelligent, scientific changing about of farm crops, in which the requirements of the soil are always kept in mind, to the haphazard rotations which still prevail on many of the Corn Belt farms. We are learning facts about our soil today that the eastern states learned to their regret twenty and thirty years ago and even longer, that it 1s an expensive and tedious process to restore fertility to land after it has been exhausted by the continuous growing of corn year after year. Twenty years hence the wheat belt farmers of the northwest will be con- fronted with the serious task of restoring worn-out wheat lands. It seems that the older fields of a community must first become so deficient in plant food that it no longer pays to grow the money crop of the country before that com- munity will adopt a rotation of crops that will in any way build up the land. The farmers of this country have been slow to adopt good rotations. They have waited until they were driven to it by necessity. We are, however, optimistic. We feel sure that through intelligent management thousands of farms in Illinois are more fertile today than they were five years ago. On the other hand tens of thousands are becoming less fertile. We believe, though, the time is not far off when the turning point will be reached in [Illinois and that farms will gradually become more productive in- stead.of becoming less productive, as they are today. THE ROTATION OF FARM CROPS 59 Higher prices for farm crops have made the building up of worn-out farms very profitable. Better still, higher prices, by increasing the farmer’s surplus, are making this restora- tion possible as well as advantageous for the average farmer. If a farmer realizes that he is farming his land to its ultimate ruin he is still unable to make much of an advance along the line of soil conservation if he has only enough each year upon which to live. The city man who is complaining about the high cost of foodstuffs should be made to realize that high prices ‘today are giving the farmer an incentive to do better farming and are giving him a working capital with which to build up and improve his farm. The present good prices that the farmer is receiving will do more than anything else toward postponing the day when we may have a serious food shortage. Getting back to rotation; most farmers agree that con- tinuous corn culture has no place in progressive farming. As a temporary practice on rich virgin soils it may be all right,—perhaps for a few years while the farm is being paid for and some of the comforts are being accumulated about the house; but it a short-sighted policy for any other pur- pose and is a certain money loser on lands which have been long under cultivation. RotTation Kitus WEEDS Practiced in an intelligent and systematic manner, crop rotation will serve other purposes than the mere up-building of the soil. Chief among these is the possibility of destroying many troublesome weeds, or at least, of reducing presence to the point where they are of little consequence. Most weeds thrive better with some certain kind of crop. When land is devoted to one crop continuously for a number 60 PRACTICAL CORN CULTURE of years in succession, the kind of weed, or weeds, that thrive best with that particular crop are given an excellent oppor- tunity to propagate. There is no better way to check the growth of weeds than to keep the ground occupied constantly with growing farm crops. All observing readers have noticed that bare spots in a field become covered with weeds of some kind. Many kinds of weeds are kept in check, or are entirely destroyed, by growing some crop like corn which requires open cultivation. On the other hand, many weeds that thrive in open cultivation will be smothered out if the field is put in grass or some small grain. Most rotations make it possible to have a growing crop on the land all the time. Five years ago we rented eighty acres adjoining one of our farms. Since the farm was not cross fenced and the previous tenants desired to pasture their stalk fields they had not sown any part of it in wheat because the stock in running over it would ruin it. The rotation for over ten years on this farm had been corn three years and oats one year, to the exclusion of all other crops. This, together with care- less farming, had caused the fields to become badly infested with cockleburs. These weeds were so thick that they were a continual annoyance to the men and teams while putting in the first crop. We put the whole farm in oats the first year, then in wheat two years straight. The result was that the cockleburs were completely destroyed. In addition to this, the milkweeds, which had gotten a bad start, were also destroyed. While we have only had this farm five years it has been changed by crop rotation and clean culture from one of the foulest to one of the cleanest farms in the county. If we were to follow this system again we would substitute soy beans for most of the oats. One year with another, this is THE ROTATION OF FARM CROPS 61 as good a money crop as oats and has a big advantage over oats since it is building up the land instead of running it down. RoratTion IMPROVES THE PHysicaAL CONDITION OF THE SOIL AND INCREASES ITS FERTILITY The roots of the different crops are of great aid in pul- verizing (and’fining) the soil. When deep rooted legumes are grown in rotation they utilize and bring to the surface plant food which lies beyond the reach of the short rooted cereals. “When the roots of these legumes decay this nitrogenous plant food is left in the surface soil to be used by the succeeding grain crops. While there is a slight improvement in the physical con- dition of the soil when different grain crops alone are rotated, the greatest benefits of rotations are derived from the legumes included. For this reason at least one leguminous crop should be included in every crop rotation. The increase in the fertility of the soil as a raat of crop rotations is due entirely to the additional nitrogen stored in the soil by the legume. If the leguminous crop is taken off the land each time it is grown it is doubtful if any nitrogen is added. When soy beans and cowpeas are grown and the hay is taken off and no manure is returned it is believed that nitrogen is actually taken from the soil rather than added. If soy beans and cowpeas are grown for the seed, the straw should be returned to the land after the seed has been threshed out. Since a good supply of nitrogen is essential for the profitable growing of grain crops, and the only cheap way to get this nitrogen is by growing legumes, every effort should be made to leave as much of the crop on the land as is possible. We wish to say, right here, that crop rotation alone will 62 PRACTICAL CORN CULTURE not permanently maintain the fertility of the soil. All crops require more or less phosphorus and potash as a part of their plant food. Each year a drain is made on the supply of phosphorus and potash. When these elements of plant food are taken from the soil they must be returned in the form of stable manure, commercial fertilizer or rock phos- phate. No plant can put phosphorus and potash in the soil; instead, they all take it out. For nearly fifteen years we have followed with slight variation a rotation consisting of corn two years, then oats, wheat and clover successively. This is the popular rotation in Central Illinois and is followed to a greater or lesser extent on nine-tenths of the farms in this latitude. Since oats are a heavy drain on the land and often an unprofitable crop, we have, for the last two years, substituted soy beans largely for oats. Each year we sow about 100 acres to soy beans. Before adopting soy beans this ground was sown to oats. By following this method we are including two leguminous erops in the rotation instead of one. The soy bean is a wonderful crop for improving the phys- ical condition of the soil. An ideal seed bed for winter wheat can be made on soy bean fields with very little work. Remember to return the straw to the land if you wish to increase the nitrogen content of the soil. (More will be said of soy beans in the next chapter.) Alfalfa is one of the most profitable of the legume crops but it is not a good crop to work in a rotation. This is due to the fact that it is difficult and expensive to secure a good stand and when once secured it is profitable to leave the geround in alfalfa from three to five years. A good stand - of alfalfa will generally grow better each year for the first three years. Alfalfa will grow on most of the well drained soils of the Corn Belt. It will grow on thin land but it will do much better on strong land. That alfalfa will build up THE ROTATION OF FARM CROPS 63 the land is shown by the fact that eighty bushels of corn have been grown on alfalfa sod when fifty bushels could not be grown on this land before it had been put in alfalfa. (We tell of our own experience in growing alfalfa in the next chapter. ) RotTaTION Kiuus INSECTS AND CHECKS PLANT DISEASES Rotation not only gives opportunity to improve the phys- ical condition and increase the fertility of the soil, but it may also be made to head off many kinds of insect enemies “and plant diseases. If one kind of crop is grown year after year on the same field, its insect enemies are likely to multi- ply rapidly since they are continually supplied with the par- ticular kind of food upon which they thrive best. Because of the fact that changing cuts off this food supply for a time, intelligent crop rotation has been found more effective than all other methods combined in the economical checking of insect and fungous pests. (In the chapter entitled ‘‘Dis- eases and Insects’’ we are telling in detail how crop rotation is effectively checking the corn root worm.) Crop rotation is as effective in checking many of the smuts, rust, and blights as it is in checking the insect pests. Since the annual damages to the crops from insects alone amounts to several millions in each state, too much stress can- not be laid on any method that will check them. Even if erop rotation were not essential to the maintenance of soil fertility it would be necessary to rotate to keep in check the insect pests. Rotation DistTRIBUTES Farm WorK Another very important reason for practicing crop rota- tion is that it distributes farm labor evenly over a long period of time. When a rotation such as corn, oats, wheat and clover 5 64 PRACTICAL CORN CULTURE is followed, there will be field work to be done that will require the greater part of the year. Fall plowing for wheat is done during a slack season and with horses and imple- ments that would otherwise be idle if winter wheat was not going to be raised. Two crops are raised with the same farm equipment that would be required to raise either one. This means economy of production. If one farmer can work his teams for only three months in the year while his neighbor, who follows diversified farming, can work his nine months to advantage, then the first farmer’s teams cost him three times as much per day as do the teams belonging to his neighbor. The greatest advantage to be gained by extending farm operations over as long season as possible is due to the fact that labor can be economically employed by the year. Labor which can be employed by the year not only costs less per | day but it is of superior quality to labor which is employed by the day or week. Men employed steadily take more inter- est in their work and are better men. Our own experience has taught us that the most dependable farm hands are mar- ried men. For this reason we employ married farm help by the year and furnish them with comfortable houses in which to live. While the first cost of the married man is greater than single help with board furnished, the married man will prove to be cheaper in the end and certainly much more reliable. We plan our crop rotations partly with a view to giving employment throughout the year. RotTATION LESSENS THE DANGER OF Crop Loss While corn is the most certain money crop grown in the Corn Belt, its yield is easily cut down one-half by weather conditions when wheat, oats or legumes might be hurt little if any. Crop rotation and diversified farming make for more THE ROTATION OF FARM CROPS 65 uniform and more certain yearly returns. When corn alone is grown, the farmer depends entirely on the yield and price of his corn for his profit. On land that can grow several erops profitably it is poor business to depend entirely on one crop for a profit and a living. RotTaTioN FuRNISHES A BALANCED RATION FoR LivE Stock It is necessary to grow several crops in order to have a balanced ration for live stock. Rotation of grain with legu- “minous crops gives this balanced ration. Corn is very rich in starch. When it is grown extensively there is a tendency to feed a ration deficient in protein. Since there is a large amount of protein in all the legumes, the ration can be bal- anced by growing and feeding clover, alfalfa, soy beans, ete. The first one hundred pounds of weight of spring pigs can be produced very cheaply if they have access to good clover or alfalfa pasture. Our principal profit in growing hogs is due to the fact that they are raised on clover and soy bean pasture. WHAT IS THE Best Crop ROTATION ? This is the question that each farmer will have to solve for himself. Crop rotations should depend upon the size of the farm, the nature of the soil, the market demand for the different crops and the abundance or scarcity of labor. Again, a rotation that is good for one season may not be the best for another; but notwithstanding all this, every crop rotation should include at least one leguminous crop. A good five-year rotation, and one that will build up the land is,-corn two years, soy beans one year (or cowpeas), 66 PRACTICAL CORN CULTURE wheat one year and clover one year. As we have said be- fore, the straw should be returned to the land if the beans are hulled. The clover is often worth more for pasture than it would be if allowed to rot down as a humus and fertilizer. If the clover seed is hulled the straw should of course be returned to the land. If the clover fields are not needed for pasture it is a good plan to cut the first crop early and let it lay to enrich the land. This early cutting of the first crop will often double the yield of seed in the second crop. Humwvus Humus may be defined as decaying vegetable matter. It varies in composition and quantity in different soils. The productive capacity of land is measured largely by its phys- ical conditions and the physical condition depends largely upon the amount of humus and nitrogen in the soil. When old land is packed and breaks up cloddy it is often due to the fact that the humus has been exhausted. While the grain crops are dependent on several elements it is usually the supply of nitrogen which limits the crop production. All the nitrogen used in the growing of corn crops is taken from the humus in the soil, while the legumes get a certain amount from the air. Since the grain crops are dependent on humus, it can readily be seen that every effort should be made to restore as much humus to the soil as is taken out by the crops and the rapid decay which results from open culture. Vegetable or animal trash of any kind will make humus, although some kinds, like clover hay, and stable manure will make a great deal more than will straw, corn stalks or leaves. The drouth-resisting qualities of a soil depend largely upon the amount of humus in it. THE ROTATION OF FARM CROPS 67 ADDITIONAL READING “Deeline in Kansas Acre Yields.’’ By L. E. Call... The Orange Judd Farmer. Jan. 25, 19138. ‘‘Soils and Fertilizers’? (a book). By Harry Snyder. ‘“Crop Rotations for Illinois Soils.’’ By Cyril G. Hopkins. Cireular No. 141 Ill. Agri. Ex. Sta: ‘“Thirty Years of Crop Rotations.’’ By Cyril G. Hopkins. Bulletin No. 125 Ill. Agri. Ex. Sta. ‘‘Married Men Cheaper than Single Help.’’ By Ralph M. Ainsworth. Prarie Farmer. March 1, 1913. ‘“The Fertility of the Land.’’ By Isaae Phillips Roberts. CHAPTER VI LEGUMINOUS CROPS Nitrogen is no more essential to the growth of corn than certain other elements but it is the one required in the largest amount and is the most easily lost from the soil. Throughout the Corn Belt it is more often the lack of nitrogen than of any other element which limits crop production. When this supply of nitrogen is low it must be restored before paying grain crops can be grown on the land. The object in growing leguminous crops is to restore economically the nitrogen which has been used up by the preceding grain crops. Many so-called worn out soils are worn out only in the sense that the humus (decaying vege- table matter) in them has been used up by the grain crops and clean culture which they received. When this nitrogen and humus has been restored by the growing of several legu- minous crops, many farms are made as productive as they were when first broken up. Leguminous crops such as clover, soy beans, cowpeas, vetches, alfalfa, sweet clover, etc., have the power of taking pure nitrogen from the air and storing it in the roots through the nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the root nodules. At the same time it must be remembered that all the nitrogen in the legumes is not stored in the roots but that a considerable part is distributed through the stem and leaves. If, then, hay is removed, all the nitrogen in the stems and leaves is also removed. By removing all the soy bean or cowpea hay it is believed that nitrogen is actually taken from the soil rather than added. It naturally follows that if the nitrogen con- 68 LEGUMINOUS CROPS 69 tent of the soil is to be rapidly increased, it is necessary that the nitrogen in the stem and leaves should be returned by plowing under the crop or, at least, by returning the straw to the land after the seed has been removed. The legumes we have used in restoring and maintaining a sufficient supply of nitrogen and humus in the soils of our own farms have been clover, soy beans, cowpeas and alfalfa. We have not used vetches or sweet clover but we intend to sow eighty acres of the latter. Our reasons for giving sweet clover a trial will be mentioned under ‘‘The Culture of Sweet Clover.’’ CLOVER Clover is the mainstay legume used in restoring nitrogen and humus to over-cropped farms of the Corn Belt. It is well adapted to the black prairie soils of the Corn Belt. It not only adds one more year to the rotation, thus resting the land from corn that much longer, but it actually enriches the soil by adding nitrogen. What is just as important, it makes available large amounts of phosphorus and potash in the soil by the decay of its roots. (The supply of phos- phorus and potash in the soil is not increased by growing legumes, but that which is already there is rendered more available by the acidity of the clover.) In field tests extending over twenty-nine years on the black corn land of central Illinois the experiment station of this State found that at the end of that time corn grown continually on the same land yielded twenty-seven bushels per acre as an average for the last three years of the test. Corn grown in rotation with oats yielded forty-six bushels per acre, while corn grown in rotation with oats and clover yielded fifty-eight bushels per acre without the aid of either fertilizer or manure. (See Bulletin 125, Illinois Agricul- 70 PRACTICAL CORN CULTURE tural Experiment Station.) These results have been verified on thousands of farms throughout the Corn Belt. There are three common kinds of clover of general impor- tance to the farmer. They are, in the order of their im- portance: the common red or June clover, mammoth or sapling clover, and the Swedish or Alsike. The common red is the most extensively grown of these varieties. It will do well on most of the common prairie soils of the Corn Belt. It differs from the other two varieties in that it gives two crops in one season, either two crops of hay or a erop of hay and a crop of seed. Alsike will do well on any soil that common red clover will thrive on and in addition it will grow on soils that are too wet for the common. Mammoth clover is distinctly the clover for sandy and other poor soils. It will get along on soils too thin and too dry for either medium or Alsike to thrive on at all. This is the best clover for soiling purposes. If a soil is very sour and lacking in lime, it will not grow the clovers or other legumes until these conditions have been remedied. Two thousand pounds of limestone applied about once in every four years will correct the acidity in most soils and make it, not only possible, but easy to grow clovers and other legumes. The application of limestone to the soils of Southern Illinois has made possible the growing of clover on thousands of acres that were too acid before the application of lime was made. Clover has been grown successfully for years in central and northern Illinois without the application of limestone, al- though the soil would doubtless be benefited and the clover crop helped by its application. CULTURE We always sow clover in a nurse crop of wheat or oats. This is not only the profitable method, but it is best. to have LEGUMINOUS CROPS , val the nurse crop in order to keep down the weeds until the clover can get a start. We prefer to seed about four quarts of good seed per acre on winter wheat early in March and let the frost work the seed into the ground, or to sow later when the ground ean be harrowed, and harrow the wheat immediately after sowing the clover seed. This harrowing will cover the seed and if the ground is not too wet it will benefit the wheat. If it is desirable to seed the clover with oats, the clover | may be seeded at the same time the oats are drilled. When both are sown in one drill it is necessary to have a separate ~attachment made purposely for seeding the clover. It will not do to mix the clover with the oats since the clover will be covered too deep. Besides, clover seed, being heavy, will shake to the bottom and will not be seeded evenly. In gen- eral the sooner the nurse crop is gotten off the clover the better 1t will be for it. Other things being equal, we prefer seeding clover with wheat rather than oats since the oats often grow so rank as to shade the clover and kill it. Clover, to grow well, must have plenty of air, moisture, and warmth. The first two seem to be more important than the last, although young clover is often killed if a warm early spring is followed by severe freezing weather. Unless clover has made a rank growth the first fall, it is not a good plan to pasture or cut it the first year. Gen- erally speaking, the fall growth after the nurse crop is taken off should be allowed to rot down and protect the roots through the winter. Soy BEANS Soy beans are one of the most profitable crops that can be grown on the farm. This crop has gained rapidly in pop- 72 PRACTICAL CORN CULTURE ularity during the last five years. It is almost as efficient a soil builder as clover and is a splendid crop for hay. The seed sells for two and three dollars per bushel and the yield is from eight to twenty bushels per acre. On our own farms we are growing soy beans on the ground that formerly went in oats. As stated in the chapter on rotation, soy beans will, one year with another, grow as big a money crop as oats besides building up the land instead of running it down. During the HARVESTING SOY BEANS last two years, we have grown one hundred and twenty acres of soy beans and just enough oats to feed our horses. The seed was threshed by the ordinary grain separator although a regular pea or bean huller would be more satisfactory. Our yields have averaged about ten bushels per acre and the surplus seed sold at $2.50 and $3.00 per bushel. When the grain separator is used the concave teeth should all be removed and the speed of the machine reduced to about one-half of that ordinarily used in threshing grain. The tail LEGUMINOUS CROPS 73 of the machine should also be lowered to prevent choking. Culture: Soy beans should be planted on the poorest land on the farm. If it is possible to do so, it is well to break the ground early and harrow it once, then leave it until after the corn is all planted before working it in to a seed bed and planting the beans. It is not hard to get a good stand if the seed is good and the seed bed is moist and warm. These last two conditions are absolutely essential. The soy bean is just as susceptible to frost as garden beans. Cold ground will rot the seed and a frost will kill the plant after it is up. From the first to the middle of _June is a good time to sow the beans in central Illinois. The soy bean can stand considerable dry weather after the plant has attained the height of four or more inches. The seed should never be planted in dry ground, since it will swell and rot unless the drilling is followed by an early rain. It is better to wait until the rain comes before beginning to drill. The seed bed should be prepared as for corn and all weeds killed immediately before sowing. We prefer to drill the beans and use an ordinary grain drill. We sow about one and one-half bushels and use all the holes in the drill. If we get a good stand and have favorable weather the field will be free from weeds, since the rank growth will smother them out. Good results have been secured by planting less than half the above amount of seed per acre. We drill thick in order to smother out the weeds. We have never tried drilling in wider rows and cultivating since our time at this season of the year is needed in the cornfields. With a good seed bed, the seed should be planted about three inches deep. We have grown mostly the ‘‘Medium Yellow’’ but this last year we have tried the ‘‘Black Ebony’’ or ‘‘Medium Black’’ ag it is sometimes called. For some reason or other the nitrogen-gathering nodules on the roots are larger than 74 PRACTICAL CORN CULTURE on the ‘‘Medium Yellow.’’ The ‘‘ Black Ebony’’ grows more rank and is about two weeks later than the ‘‘Medium Yellow.”’ Inoculation: Like other legumes, soy beans utilize the nitrogen in the air and add it to the soil by means of root nodules. These nodules are caused by certain bacteria. Un- less they are present, soy beans in most soils will make but a weak growth; many will turn yellow and some may even die. These bacteria are present in most soils of the South but in the Corn Belt proper, the bacteria are not well distrib- uted, which makes it advisable to inoculate. Inoculation of a new field may be secured either by trans- ferring the soil from a well inoculated soy bean field or by using some of the pure cultures advertised. (We obtained our first inoculated soil from the Illinois Experiment Sta- tion at Urbana. The station sells soil at fifty cents per hun- dred pounds and one hundred pounds is enough for twenty acres if the glue process is used.) We find the glue process the most economical as well as the most effective. The method consists of sticking parti- cles of the inoculated soil to the beans by wetting the beans in glue water. The glue water is made by dissolving about three pounds of glue in ten gallons of water. This is enough water to wet fifty bushels of beans. (It is a good plan to add about a gallon of flour paste as this gives the glue water a little body.) A layer of beans about four inches deep is thoroughly wet with the glue water and the inoculated soil is sprinkled over them. The beans are then shoveled about until particles of soil are sticking to all the beans. Then another layer is treated in a like manner. The beans should be shoveled over about every half hour until they are dry. They will be dry enough to prevent heating in two to four hours. Do not try to drill until the beans are dry and don’t LEGUMINOUS CROPS ee expose the beans to the direct rays of the sun after the soil is added. Sunlight will kill the bacteria in the soil. COWPEAS Cowpeas and vetches are the main leguminous crops for poor soils. Cowpeas have the power to extract plant food from land that is too poor for the profitable growing of such crops as clover, alfalfa or even soy beans. They will grow without inoculation on new land which is something that most legumes will not do. The bacteria of this legume seem to be present in nearly all soils. While cowpeas will grow on most soils they are better adapted to sandy types than to heavier black soils. In other words, the cowpea will do for light sandy soils what the soy bean does for heavier soils. For this reason we have grown soy beans in preference to cowpeas on our own lands, which are a black retentive loam. The western part of Mason County is quite sandy. On this soil cowpeas grow to perfection and find a place in the crop rotation of all the well regulated farms. Cowpeas are largely grown in the Cotton States of the South. It is safe to say that no one plant can add more to the agricultural wealth of the South than the more exten- sive growing of cowpeas. A common practice in the South — is to grow cowpeas between the rows of corn, thereby enrich-_ ing the land and doubling the value of the stalk fields for pasture. Culture: The seed bed for cowpeas should be prepared in the same manner as for soy beans. While the seed and young plant is more hardy than those of soy beans, good preparation will pay big returns. Cowpeas should be sown late in the North, after all danger of frost is over. It 1s best to double dise well just before sowing in order to kill all weeds. 76 PRACTICAL CORN CULTURE If cowpeas are cut for hay, the hay should be left in the cock for a week, and longer if the weather is not very dry. A good plan is to let the hay stay in the windrow a day, before it is put in the cock. Cowpea and soy bean hay dries very slowly, because of the thick stem. For this reason it is unsatisfactory to take the hay direct from the windrow to the mow or stack. The growing of cowpeas or soy beans on land is a good preparation for the growing of alfalfa. VETCHES Vetch has a very important place in the building up and renovating of the depleted soils of the East and Southeast. It often paves the way for successful alfalfa growing on soils that are too poor to grow alfalfa at the start. Vetch is not much grown on the black prairie soils of the Corn Belt. It is our opinion that other legumes are more effective than this annual in maintaining the productivity of prairie soils. Culture: Vetch may be sown either broadcast or by drill- ing. Drilling is the more modern method. It may be sown alone or with one of the small grains as a supporting crop. In the Southern states a winter vetch is sown in the fall, either in September or October. Hairy vetch is the favorite in the North. In the spring it may be sown as early as the ground can be gotten in shape. The seed is sown at the rate of one bushel per acre. It is necessary to inoculate some soils in order to grow vetch successfully. ALFALFA Alfalfa is fast becoming a popular crop in the Corn Belt. Its splendid hay qualities are rapidly pushing it into public favor. We took a great deal of pains to put in eight acres of alfalfa and later results showed that it deserved all the attention it received. From this eight acre field we cut three LEGUMINOUS CROPS 17 crops of hay the following year. The three crops yielded better than five tons per acre. The hay is of the finest quality and will usually sell for eighteen dollars per ton, or ninety dollars per acre; but it is not for sale at this price. We feed it to our own stock. After obtaining these results on eight acres we felt justified in sowing twenty acres more the following fall. (The two following photographs were taken in this eight-acre field the summer after the crop was put in.) This was our first attempt at growing alfalfa. We were careful in the prepa- ALFALFA HAY IN THE COCK. THE COCKS ARE COVERED WITH CANVAS CAPS ration of the seed bed and followed instructions in regard to seeding and inoculation. We want to say right here, however, that if alfalfa is grown at all it should be grown as a money crop. If it will not average two tons of good hay per acre it is better, in our opinion, to grow some other crop. Alfalfa is an expen- sive crop to put in, when it is put in right and one cannot afford to put it in any other way. The ground on which alfalfa is grown should lay fallow 78 PRACTICAL CORN CULTURE and should be worked at frequent intervals the first summer. This means no returns the first year. Again, alfalfa ean not be made a paying crop on poor, unproductive soils. Al- falfa ground must be sweet and in good physical condition if the returns from the crop are to justify the necessary expense. Most of the black prairie soils of the Corn Belt can be made good alfalfa land by the application of lime- stone to the soil. Alfalfa should be made a money crop rather than used BALING ALFALFA HAY ON CLOVERDALE FARM This field made over five tons of hay per acre, the year after it was sown as a soil-building legume. If alfalfa is grown it is grown for the hay and large quantities of phosphorus and potas- sium are removed from the soil in the hay. On the other hand some nitrogen is stored in the roots and the physical condition of the soil is undoubtedly improved. In actual practice, then, alfalfa improves good land but cannot be considered in connection with poor land, as it is not a profitable crop to grow on unfertile soils. LEGUMINOUS CROPS 79 Soils: An ideal alfalfa soil is a deep rich sandy or clay loam. Alfalfa will not thrive in a sour soil. Alfalfa bacteria can not live in an acid soil and these bacteria are absolutely necessary to the successful growing of the crop. The appli- eation of two thousand pounds of limestone will ‘‘sweeten’’ acid soils for the growing of alfalfa and all farm crops. If the soil is only slightly acid, less lime will be necessary. We have not found it necessary to use limestone on our soils. If the land is very fiat, it should be well drained before seeding to alfalfa. Superfluous water will drown out alfalfa. The soil must be full of air spaces and if these are filled with water the alfalfa will smother and turn yellow. Inoculation: Alfalfa bacteria are seldom found in the soil east of the Mississippi. These bacteria must be arti- ficially supplied before alfalfa can be profitably grown. Since sweet clover bacteria and alfalfa bacteria are identical, soil from the roadside, where sweet clover is growing, will serve to inoculate the alfalfa field. We use a manure spreader to seatter inoculated soil, although it can be done very well by hand. If sweet clover soil is not available, “‘pure alfalfa eulture’’ can be obtained from reliable seedmen. This alfalfa culture is satisfactory though rather expensive. Preparation of Seed Bed: As before stated, the ground should be plowed deep, preferably in June. The ground should then be disced or harrowed every week or two, (in order to kill all weeds), until about the first or middle of August, when it should be worked repeatedly until a very fine mellow seed bed is secured. The field should then be inoculated as suggested above and clean seed, free from weed and other seeds, should be sown at the rate of fifteen pounds to the acre. | The seed bed must be moist from the very top surface down. We sow broadcast with a horn seeder and sow both ways to insure an even distribution. The seed should be 6 80 PRACTICAL CORN CULTURE eovered to a depth of one-half to one inch by a lhght harrowing. We have never sown alfalfa seed with a nurse crop and are inclined to believe the results would be unsatisfactory. If the seed was sown in the spring it would, of course, be necessary to use a nurse crop of some kind to keep down weeds until the alfalfa could get a start; but spring sowing of alfalfa has not been so successful ag fall sowing in Illinois and Iowa. Alfalfa should be cut when from one-third to one-half the blooms are out, or just after the new shoots have come out at the base. It should never be cut until after the new shoots have started. To cut before means a very weak suc- eeeding crop. If there is a considerable growth in the fall it should be either pastured or clipped before winter comes on. . ae ¥ od * . ‘J & % % % pVsgidcuousy & FeeAR as a il 2 3 a SPACE BETWEEN THE ROWS In ears Nos. 1 and 2 there is too much space between the rows. In ear No. 3 there is not enough space to enable the ear to dry properly. No. 4 shows the proper amount of space between the rows field, selection is undertaken in a thorough and painstaking manner, the effort is often wasted. RE-SORTING THE CORN If corn is selected in the field, it is a good plan to gather two or three times as much as will be needed so that it can be carefully culled after it is thoroughly dry. Many unde- sirable points are often seen in corn after it is dry that can not be detected in the field. In order to make the compari- son of ears as easy as possible, they should be placed on a table. After all ears that show marked inferiority have been 100 PRACTICAL CORN CULTURE discarded, the remaining ears should be placed side by side and at least two kernels removed from the middle of each and placed above the ear for comparison. From now on we can more easily study the different points by using the corn score ecard. THE CorN Score CArpD The score card is necessarily arbitrary and inflexible, and should not be followed too closely in the final judging and 1 2 3 4 DEPTH OF KERNELS In ears No. 1 and 2 the kernels are too shallow and the percentage of cob to ear is too great. Ears Nos. 3 and 4 show deep wedge-shaped kernels and will shell out a high percentage of corn comparison of samples. Nevertheless, it is the best aid the beginner has for determining the relative values and differ- ent points of merit in different samples. The corn growers’ associations in the different states have all adopted some form of score card to be used in the work of corn judging at their annual short courses held at the state agricultural colleges. SELECTING BEST EARS FOR SEED 101 The following table is the revised score card as adopted by the Illinois Corn Growers’ Association, January 25, 1911: MEASUREMENT CF VARIETIES NORTHERN DISTRICT OF STATE ae Smiter be saan = ence on cob hors, vellow Ment. i... ..-.--..- 8.5 in. i; ep.. ba), 88 ECPM? uted cas oho tain’ a es ae oo 8.5 in. 6. 5 in. 88 Boone or Johnson County White.... | 8.5 in. 625 ‘in: 88 UMN et AV OELUG 5 ed wee 2 3 e's cee the 8.5 in. 6. 5 in. 90 eS ig Os ee cr 8.5 in. 6.75 in. 90 Se IRIO ct dcit clas 4, 2 2 -beie ds ids 8.5 in. 6. 5 in. 90 iiamimon White Pearl............- gaa 6; 5 in. 85 ONT OT MES a a a 8.5 in. 6. 5 in. 88 = CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN DISTRICTS OF STATE es VelloW Dents. 2.2 be we 9.5 in. 6.75 in. 88 op RS SUS peel oe mane eee 9.5 in. 6.75 in. 88 Boone or Johnson County White..... 9.5 in. §.75 in. 88 RR OAM OLUUS. Voi my 0a ais 3s .0 2 6 om; 6.75 in. 90 LE ee eee 9° an, A LS 90 RNR AE aii wie sa ae es > ash 6.75 in. 90 Champion White Pearl............. Sam, 6.75 in. 85 PE RAE SOR oie cio ws bente wins a8 5 3 fe 9.5 in. 6.75 in. 88 THE CoRN ScoRE CARD Ports pees a> Sone! ME MIRED, OE OATS! la chasis «5m Sots iens wide <\se's 1 rae Te 5 ot Ze Guncumrerence Of (€8%. i. .°si52 es ones eo SNS, ae A ie Beet, A SF Migh And COW. fo. 5/50 ae) nm 6 «> A sett cir este tac PDO WO COAE ie ood Wim eee. F we cineca 1 Ugg OE er eee Me oimeiiny Of -OxMIDIL.. . 2. sec. ee 3s SE TE eS ee MOR NO AES ls Bias cele. opi ec bisbe 44 Sad cals) « BI oP WS Blair BA clas ale ME IRE RE RGMER Sool eee che a= Aine Seals sm wus Wr dephatal ec latn Gee OMe NUITOLMUIGY oo. tn ew ceypa nb ain'= 0 se BP ides Beet ooh at MEI BRIO 8 ici cin bine um nial nue mae nee ENN Me ATR eg? Mie ORE” DELWEGH | TOWS. 62 .0ns,. ns ais eee Ea i divlee ges or aSene fhe 11. Space between kernels at cob.......... TVG ard eae ne cs Peay tality OF SlGd, CONGILION.:..... 0 5. 64:3.-- By 7 alk 4 oy yk dca ee en ISS, OE EWG. - a. 6 «Gianni Aicvem oat “aye it SS) Ae deceit ere 14 coportionof shell corn. to-ear. ... .,...'... hs ae GBs Se x esoa. tae Meanie Score. eer Pm We: GS hae pio oS beer 102 PRACTICAL CORN CULTURE EXPLANATION OF POINTS IN THE SCORE CARD 1. Length of Ears: The minimum length of the ear depends on the variety under consideration; thus, the minimum length of Reid’s Yellow Dent in the Central Illinois Division is 9.5 inches, Golden Eagle is 9 inches and White Pearl is 8 inches. The deficiencies in length of all ears (in a ten-ear sample) are added together, for every inch thus resulting a cut of two points is made. The length is measured from the butt to the extreme tip. 2. Circumference of Ears: The minimum circumference, like the length, varies with the variety measurement. The deficiencies in cir- cumference of all ears (in a ten-ear sample) are added together, and for every inch thus resulting a cut of two points is made. The circumference is measured at about one-third the distance from the butt to the tip of the ear. 3. Color: In judging color, a red cob in white corn or a white cob in yellow corn is cut ten points, For one mixed kernel, a cut of one-fifth of a point is made; for two, two-fifths of a point, and so on up to five or more, when a one point cut is made for each additional off-kernel. Kernels missing may be counted as mixed, at the discre- tion of the judge. Differences in shade of color of grain or cob are scored according to variety characteristics. 4, Shape of Ears: All ears should be cylindrical with straight rows and with proper proportion of length and circumference. The shape of the ear should conform to the variety type; thus Leaming ears should be slightly tapering. 5. Uniformity of Exhibit: Ears should be uniform in shape, length and circumference. 6. Tips of Ears: Oval shape and regularly filled out with large dented kernels. In selecting for seed it is sometimes not advisable to insist that the tip be covered. If well covered tips are selected year after year the ears will become shortened and more will be lost than gained. 7. Butts of Ears: Kernels rounded over the end of the cob in regular manner, leaving a deep depression where shank is removed. Properly filled butts indicate perfect pollination and a relatively high proportion of corn to cob. At present there is not as much stress laid upon good butts and tips as formerly. A good butt, however, is more important than a good tip. 8. Kernel Uniformity: Kernels from the same ear and from the several ears should be uniform in size and shape. The kernels that have been removed should be carefully compared. Ears should be dis- carded whose kernels are exceptionally large or small, broad or narrow, long or short. Kernel uniformity is more important than ear uni- formity. The planter cannot be made to drop regularly if the kernels are irregular. Other things being equal, too long kernels indicate that the corn will be too late in maturing. The shortest kernels ripen early but do not produce as much corn. Since the general tendency NOTE: A _ part of this chapter pertaining to the explanations of the corn score card was taken in the main from the Eleventh Annual Report of the Illinois Corn Growers’ Association, SELECTING BEST EARS FOR SEED 103 is for kernels to become more shallow, deeper kernels should be planted than is desired in the crop. See illustration. 9. Kernel Shape: This should conform to the variety type. Gen- erally speaking, kernels should be wedge-shaped and full at the germ end, except Champion White Pearl, which should be smoothly indented with rounded top and nearly as wide as deep. 10. Space Between Rows: Furrows between rows and spaces caused by round corners of kernels, which should be narrow, deep and sufficient for perfect ventilation. See illustration. 11. Space Between Kernels at Cob: . There should be little or no space in row between kernels at cob. Considerable space in the row between the kernels indicate immaturity and lack of vigor. Such ears should not be used for seed. See illustration. 12. Vitality, or Seed Condition: Ears should be ripe, sound, dry and of strong vitality. Grains of a pinkish color are objectionable, since they indicate a diseased condition. Three dead ears disqualify an entire exhibit. This is the most important point in the score card as well as in selecting corn for planting. 13. Trueness to Type: Conforming to variety characteristics in variety classes and to the prevailing type in general classes, type is determined largely by the shape and uniformity of the kernels. In fact, if kernels are uniform and of the shape and indentation char- acteristic of the variety in question, the ear or exhibit may be said to have good type. 14. Proportion of Shelled Corn to Ear: In determining the pro- portion of corn to cob, weigh each alternate ear in the exhibit. Shell and weigh the cobs, and subtract weight of cobs from weight of ears, which will give weight of corn. Divide the weight of corn by the total weight of ears to get the percentage of corn. For each per cent short of standard for the variety, a one-point cut is made. We have tried to explain as clearly as possible in this chapter, the factors which enter into the selection of corn for seed and exhibition purposes. To tell on paper how to select corn is almost impossible. For this reason we urge all readers of this book to attend the nearest short course in corn judging if the opportunity presents itself. No matter how little or how much you know about corn, you will learn things that will be of practical benefit to you, as a corn grower, by attending one of these short courses. There are no charges made for taking these courses. Ralph M. Ainsworth, secretary of the Illinois Corn Growers’ and Stockmen’s Convention, held at Urbana, will be pleased to send the program and schedule to anyone writing to the address on the title page of this book. BIBLIOGRAPHY ‘‘The Study of Corn.’’ Vernon M. Shoesmith. ‘“Successful Corn Culture.’’ Prof. P. G. Holden. ‘“Selecting the Best Ears of Corn,’’ Successful Farming. Oct., 1912, is ‘Cs orn ino ythe Inti Aissociation — Yowers G = - ° u et Q 3) v - v M & > ~ = = v Spe 3° wa & © Vv APA S Ys! i. ot ir) RTS Ty pics as approved b CHAPTER X THE “‘EAR TO THE ROW” BREEDING PLOT Corn has improved greatly in type and yielding qualities in the last twenty years. From a long, slender ear on a tall, heavy stalk, corn has been bred to a eylindrical ear with deep’ grains, showing a percentage of grain to ear of between eighty-five and ninety. " This improvement in type and yielding qualities has been due to two things: First, the breeding plot; secondly, field selection. Improvements through the breeding plot are ac- complished largely in a mechanical way,—by the use of scales. Field selection is done by the picker ever keeping before him the ideal that he is striving to obtain. To make the greatest progress in corn improvement, it is necessary to combine breeding plot and field selection. On the following pages we will give as well as we can our method of conducting an ‘‘ear to the row’’ breeding plot. PLANTING A CoRN BREEDING PLOT In starting a breeding plot, one hundred of the most desirable ears are chosen. The ears of course should be well matured and sound and the type as good as can be obtained, since a mistake in the first selection may set the breeder back a year or two. It is better to make a record of the measure- ments of ears. (Illinois farmers can obtain blank registers by applying to L. H. Smith, of the University of Illinois.) If a breeding plot has been conducted before, ears, of course, should be selected from the highest yielding rows of the pre- vious year’s plot. ° 105 106 PRACTICAL CORN CULTURE After the deseription of the ears has been recorded, they are shelled separately and the kernels of each placed in small paper sacks. These sacks are tagged from one to one hundred and are then placed in a grain sack and hung away from the mice until time to plant in the spring. The best time and place for this work is in the winter before the kitchen fire. In order to prevent foreign pollenization the breeding plot should be situated in a large field of the same variety. saa) ak (ETE T4PAA) PIT Mmoswamuog pIAk *oi207 x 0 ; prea a) Cas RA pr) HPyry 1s (Hp py Pd) id Sudan ping e*vs007 amy QQ OP YY oa Mr MA Qa s pore SYADUIE the wes b&y Os at ‘ke ye heel #4 of ag ne) 4! at» of¢e ASE s$ 18 Bie ae ee hel ot Al ey eT The SWE gh ee Se Me wel ut at BL 47 I ite ane os¢ gh 8&9\ Lt ar ke He bol 29 8 aL ge qhy phe She OF cit Fr Boh BE me Al gk Bt gL 847 Be! ghz ote sh Oe Seto eS RO Ine sre Lit 9 eb th hy me 4 sf od? Fa io 23 JE et ont fe ofe of pf bs BES dF ge ke og beg t age a3 gy FSR og beg #69 282 #2 Fe 2s 338 Feo Feo FR SE i A 5° 5° he RY “2 a3 ce se at Sa 2 2 57 RSS 28 25 2 4 ° & SMOY d4314 46 CHO003Y SONYNYOSYSd _ S¥V3 0338 IVNAIAION! 4O NOld!IdosS3aa ee ee, eee eee ‘tO NOSVAS NI aah oiaaens 0 Maen tte! Ee Eee ee \ OEMs pied G3LSSAYVH SMOY ONY G3SLNVid SYVA 4O apy n erp ep sein HaISIDSY NYOO Sarirenrg Saka par . 108 PRACTICAL CORN CULTURE are planted on the next round and so on until the plot is finished. As soon as a row is planted, it is well to tie the tag on the fence just back of the row. If the tags are substantial they will serve to mark the rows until the breed- ing plot has been cultivated the last time. After the corn is laid by, it is best to place numbered stakes at the end of each row. (See illustration.) For convenience, the two sacks to be planted on each return should be taken to the far end of the plot by the driver, placing them in his pocket as he starts each round. As soon as the breeding plot is finished, the planter boxes are filled with the regular seed of the same variety and the rest of the field is planted. Now we have a breeding plot in a large field of the same variety. It is surrounded on three sides with the same kind of corn, which prevents foreign pollenization. If the 100 ears were carefully shelled and placed in candy sacks as suggested, it should not take more than five hours longer to plant this corn than if planted in the regular way. The breeding plot is cultivated at the same time as is the entire field; in fact, one would not know that the breeding plot existed 1f it were not for the tags at the end of the rows. To secure a uniform stand, it is well to thin down to two stalks to the hill after the corn has been plowed the first time. The ears will be larger with two stalks to the hill than with three. DETASSELING It is almost necessary to detassel alternate rows. If not detasseled, the corn in each row, being from a single ear, would otherwise be closely inbred. When the alternate rows are detasseled, the product of the detasseled rows only is used. It can readily be seen that by this method cross pollen- ization is insured. THE “EAR TO THE ROW” BREEDING PLOT 109 Tasseling time usually comes at a very busy season of the year, which makes it necessary to get the work done quickly as well as thoroughly. This work can be done easily by going between the rows astride a horse muzzled to prevent destroying the corn. The tassels should be pulled, never cut. The field should be gone over the first time when about two- thirds of the tassels are just beginning to show. A second going over a week later will get practically all of the re- mainder, providing the work is carefully done. About two weeks after the detasseling, the plot should be gone through and all suckers and barren stalks removed. If there are many suckers the breeder will be well repaid for this work by the inerease in yield. MAKING OBSERVATIONS The best time for the breeder to make observations for maturity, soundness and position of ear on the stalk, is when the earliest rows have just matured. The beginner in corn breeding will be surprised to notice that the husks in some rows will be brown and dry, while on other rows they will be quite green. When it comes to deciding what rows to reserve, your opinion should be guided largely, but not altogether, by the weight of corn in the individual rows. If the scales alone were to make the decision, they would very likely indicate that we should keep one of the latest maturing rows, since they are often the highest yielders. To decide by weight alone would be a very serious mistake. It is not necessary to husk out and weigh separately every detasseled row in the breeding plot. The rows that promise apparent quality should be weighed out, and only those kept for seed that show a yield above the average. 110 PRACTICAL CORN CULTURE BREEDING AND FIELD SELECTION The purpose of the breeding plot is to determine qualities not apparent in field selection. No one, not even an expert corn judge, can pick out the highest yielders merely by looking at the individual ears. In picking for quality one might, unknowingly, turn down high yielders. The breeding plot and the scales give the inherent quality, while score card ONE HUNDRED HIGH YIELDING EARS OF REID’S YELLOW DENT Used in 1913 breeding plot selection indicates apparent quality: and even show corn. But show corn does not always possess the greatest utility. Hence, the selection with the ideal in mind should be com- bined with the breeding plot and scales in order to obtain seed corn that will grow the greatest number of bushels. In a herd of 25 brood sows it seldom happens that the THE “EAR TO THE ROW” BREEDING PLOT 111 finest show animal is the most prolific, the best mother, ete. What the individual animal has done in the past is her performance record. This is the best assurance of what she will do in the future. At the same time, it is very desirable that she conform as closely as possible to the score ecard. The same is true of corn. Corn is even more susceptible to breeding than either cattle or hogs, since there is more room for improvement. For the farmer to know that his seed corn for the coming season is from a high yielding strain and will show a high germination test should be as impor- tant to him as to know that his hogs are prolific or that his eattle are easy feeders. RESULTS OBTAINED IN BREEDING CoRN Progress in corn breeding is necessarily slow. Neverthe- less, it should be every breeder’s earnest endeavor to make this progress steady and sure. To be perfectly candid, we must say that in not a single instance have we ever obtained spectacular results in corn breeding. If one were to start with a very low type of corn the results through careful selection and breeding would undoubtedly be very marked. But starting with the very best type of the several varieties, the improvement is not so rapid. In order not to be handi- capped, the breeder should always start with the very best seed that can be obtained. Our own work in corn breeding tends to show that the ear has very little hereditary tendency to reproduce itself in size. The matter of size depends more on local field condi- tions and the hereditary tendency of the kernel. On the other hand, like kernels from small and large ears of the same variety often produce ears of the same size. This tends to prove that a good shaped kernel is of more importance than a good shaped ear. Medium sized ears out-yield exceptionally 8 112 PRACTICAL CORN CULTURE large ears because the very large ear is generally later -in maturing. Hence, the kernel does not have the vitality pos- sessed by the kernel from the smaller ear. We believe, by carefully selecting our seed from the high yielding rows in the breeding plots and, at the same time, following the rules for field selection, we can accomplish as much in one year as we could in five by using field selection alone. We are so sure of this that we are conducting three breeding plots. Since the results of the breeding plots are always affected to a considerable extent by season and varying soil conditions, we are not prepared, as yet, to make the above statements dogmatically. It will take several more years’ experiment on our part to prove or disprove the above points. The breeder who guesses at results is a hindrance and not a help to corn improvement. There are other points, however, on which we are con- vineed beyond a doubt: First, a medium type of any variety of corn will out-yield a very rough type. The result of last year’s breeding indicates that the rough type averaged in yield only 89.6 per cent of that of the medium type. Mr. Chas. A. Rowe of Jacksonville has obtained practically these same results. : Some breeders have had results proving that a very smooth type will out-yield the rough. We consider, however, the smooth type a dangerous extreme, since it does not dry out as well as the rougher type. (The rougher the type the longer the average length of kernels.) Our results show that the detasseled rows do not yield as well as the rows where the tassels are not interfered with. Even if the work is carefully done, pulling the tassels cuts the yield about 5 per cent. The loss is correspondingly greater if the work is carelessly done. This shows that detasseling should be undertaken only in the breeding plot and for the express purpose of insuring cross pollenization. LOTd ONIGHHYA «.