Rural Heritage April/May 2026

flowers are borne on a fleshy side stem which grows out about half way up the main stem. The pistil of each flower extends beyond the husks and is called the silk. A pollen grain falling on the end of a "silk" sends out a tube which finds its way down through the silk to the ovary at the base. Two male reproductive cells from the pollen grain pass down this tube and enter the ovary, where one unites with the egg cell to form the embryo, and the other with the vital cell of the endosperm to form the latter.

The flowers at the center of the cob are ready for fertilization first, the zone of fertilization gradually passing to both ends. Should a silk fail to receive a pollen grain, or be injured before fertilization has taken place, the kernel at its base fails to develop. This frequently happens to flowers at the outer end of the cob, leaving the tip slightly exposed. The pollen of any plant usually ripens and is shed two or three days before the silks appear. This tends to prevent their fertilization by pollen from the same plant. It is estimated that a single plant produces about 20 million pollen grains, while the number of kernels on an average ear is about 500 or 600.The chances for the fertilization of each egg cell are, therefore, very great. Pollen is very light and is carried by the wind sometimes for a quarter of a mile or even farther. It is, therefore, difficult to keep a variety pure when neighboring farmers grow different kinds of corn. CLIMATE AND SOIL REQUIRED Climate. The ideal corn climate is one of a summer without frost, four and a half to seven months long, the middle portion hot both day and night, with abundant sunshine and sufficient rainfall, evenly distributed throughout the growing season, to meet the demands of a rapidly growing and luxuriant crop. There is a very close relation between the rainfall of July and August and the yield of corn in the main Corn Belt. Most good corn soils in that section contain enough moisture supplied by winter and spring rains to support the crop until late June or early July without much rainfall. Thereafter, the crop must depend upon the season's rainfall; if it is not forthcoming, the yield is materially lessened. Soils and fertilizers. A crop which yields as much grain and stover as does corn is clearly a hard one on the soil; it requires high fertility for its best development. Rich, fertile soils such as are found in well-drained bottom lands and the best prairie sections of the Mississippi Valley make up the nation's best corn lands. Corn is, of course, widely grown elsewhere but always with greater need of attention in modifying the soil, than in naturally favorable sections. Many farms in the Corn Belt, however, have been planted to corn for so long that their fertility has been considerably reduced. The problem of maintaining the fertility of the soil so that corn production will continue profitable in those

SATURDAY , MAY 9, 2026

Addison County Fairgrounds • Route 17, New Haven, Vermont

All horses must have a Coggins test dated AFTER Feb 9, 2026 and an Interstate Health Certificate dated AFTER April 9, 2026. Rabies vaccination recommended within 1 year. Horse Consignment Fee: $20 per horse FOR INFORMATION CONTACT ROSE-ANN LOMBARD (802) 425-2824 or rlombard@gmavt.net or RICK (802) 598-8468 Auctioneer: Ron Wright • info@wrightauction.com Early consignments can be viewed on our website

Rural Heritage

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