1708 



Report of Farmers' Institutes 



in the !N^orth Atlantic States ; the sweet corn of our gardens which 

 has sweet, tender, wrinkled kernels hecause it stores its food supply 

 as glucose rather than starch, and the popcorn with its intensely 

 hard kernels dear to the heart of the small boy. 



There are the four types in cultiva- 

 tion, but the different varieties vary 

 through a wonderful range of size and 

 season of maturity. Corn is especially 

 interesting from the standpoint of the 

 plant breeder because it is a plastic 

 plant ; namely, it adapts itself very 

 rapidly to changed environment. 



Fig. 120. Eight-Eowed 

 Yellow Flint Corx 



CLIMATIC requirements 



So far as climatic requirements of 

 corn are concenied, two fundamental 

 facts are to be noted : First, that corn 

 is by origin a sub-tropical plant reach- 

 ing its best development only with high 

 summer temperatures ; secondly, that it 

 requires a rather abundant sunnner 

 rainfall. It has been stated that the 

 optimum or best temperature for corn 

 growth is about 93 Fahrenheit — a 

 temperature reached on only a very few days during the summer. 

 New York State lies north of the real corn belt, and on some of 

 the highest lands of the state it seems probable that it is wiser to 

 put the main effort of the farm on the production of grass rather 

 than corn. Corn can use a great deal of water, and during nor- 

 mal seasons the crop generally suffers at some period. We should 

 raise better corn if we could have not less than fourteen inches 

 of rainfall during the three midsummer months. This is a 

 matter beyond control except so far as the deficiency can be helped 

 out by proper soil preparation and cultural methods. 



The value of the corn crop is far and away the greatest of any 

 of our cereals, averaging m(»re than two and one-half billions 

 bushels yearly, or more than four times all our wheat, three and 

 one-half times our oats, and in value about twice all our hay. 



