The shank bearing the ear should be short and not over an inch or an inch and a quarter in diameter, and those ears pointing downward are the most desirable. These sheds the rain and thus preserve the grain, while those ears which stand upright, or nearly so, naturally catch moisture which trickles down into the grain and causes it to rot.

An to the number of rows and grains on the ear, these will vary with the variety, but in most standard varieties they run from sixteen to twenty, although they may run as high as twenty-four and still conform to standard. If the number runs below fourteen, the ear should be discarded. The rows should run straight from butt to tip, and those ears containing wavy rows or rows that become mixed at any point and lose their identity are not to be taken.

The seed cars should be stored in a rat-proof room, not too cold, nor warm enough to start germination in case of damp weather at any time during the winter. After the ears have dried a few days they should be husked and placed in racks, that they may cure uniformly. A very simple rack for this purpose can be made by driving wire nails into a stout board at intervals of about four inches and impaling the cars through the butts on the nails. In this way the cars can be numbered and classified as desired. 