ORIGIN AND SIGNIFICANCE OF CORN BELT MAIZE 131 



acters which is typical of the Southern Dents. As a matter of fact, by this 

 technique Brown predicted the knob numbers of the Northern Flints, even 

 when that fact was unknown to us. 



The association of characters in actual open-pollinated fields of Corn Belt 

 dents is so complex that one might suppose any study of it would be hopeless. 

 However, from a study of character association in an open-pollinated field 



Fig. 8.3 — Corn Belt Denl-like segregates from an Fo generation of cross of Longfellow 



Flint X Gourdseed Dent. 



of Golden Queen Dent (Fig. 8.1) we were able to demonstrate the association 

 of: (1) wide kernels, (2) low row numbers, (3) short glumes, (4) few tassel 

 branches, (5) long ears, and (6) narrow central pith in the ear — all of these 

 characterizing Northern Flints. The opposing combination: (1) narrow 

 kernels, (2) high row numbers, (3) long glumes, (4) many tassel branches, 

 (5) short ears, and (6) wide central pith also tended to be associated and is 

 characteristic of Southern Dents. In other words, some of the characters 

 which went in together from flints and dents were still in this open-pollinated 

 variety tending to stay together on the average. The existence of such char- 

 acter complexes has been appreciated by experienced corn breeders, though 

 apparently it has never been commented on in print. Of course, corn breed- 

 ers and corn geneticists differ in their endowments for apprehending such 



