Seed Values of Maize Kernels, Butts, Middles and Tips

Many efforts have been made to determine the relative value as seed of the kernels from the different parts of the ear of Indian corn, but the results have appeared so contradictory that little progress has been made toward any definite conclusions. Generally speaking, the directions given have been to throw away the butts and tips of the ear and to plant only seed from the middle portion. A .variety of reasons have been advanced for this practice. In connection with the preparation c~f a bibliography and index of the literature .relating to maize, there has been an opportunity to review the work which .has been done along this line. This canvass of the subject was undertaken at the suggestion of Mr. G. N. Collins, who considered it worth while to determine how far the apparently contradictory results of the different experiments could be reconciled by taking into account the fact that the silks of the kernels from the tip end of the ear are the last to appear. They often are not exserted until all the pollen from the plant has been shed, hence the tip kernels are more likely than the others to escape self-fertilization, with the accompanying decrease in vigor and productiveness. During the examination of the literature it was learned that Hunt (19o9) -~ had suggested the same explanation, but he seems to have made no attempt to d~termine whether the experimental data would support this interpretation. In this paper all of the data that have been given by the different experimenters are brought together, arranged for comparison, and reviewed, to see whether any definite differences have been..shown, and if so, whether these could be ascribed reasonably to the greater chances of cross-fertilization of the kernels at the ends of the ear.