Rural School Leaflet 



1293 



SOME FACTS ABOUT CORN 

 J. L. Stone 



The corn grown in New York State is chiefly put into silos for feed- 

 ing dairy cows. To a less extent it is grown to maturity, husked, and 

 cribbed for feeding pigs, horses, poultry, and other farm animals. To 

 some extent, also, it is used as human food. 



The climatic and soil conditions of New York State are not ideal for 

 com growing. Usually the suminers are too cool and too short, and the 

 soil lacks the abundant fertility that enables corn to reach its highest 

 development. In many seasons the yield is 

 not what might be desired. It is important 

 that varieties or strains should be developed 

 which have the best possible adaptation to 

 conditions in New York State. 



There are several types of com of varvnng 

 importance grown in the State. The children 

 are chiefly familiar with and interested in pop 

 corn and sweet com; but these are of lesser 

 economic importance than the kinds of corn 

 used for feeding stock. Of these latter there 

 are two well-recognized types, the flint corn, 

 or so-called state com, and the dent Com, or 

 western com. The flint varieties have smooth 

 glossy kernels that suggest the name because 

 of their hardness. As a rule they require a 

 shorter period of developmicnt and conse- 

 quently are better adapted to localities where 

 the seasons are considered rather short for 

 com. The dent varieties also get the type 

 name from the character of the kernel, 

 which is usually somew^hat shrunken or indented and gives the ear a 

 rough appearance. Dent corn is about the only kind grown in the West 

 and the South, the great corn-growing sections. In localities where 

 the dents wall properly mature, they often outyield the flint varieties 

 by a considerable percentage, and there is much effort being put forth 

 at the present time to develop early maturing dent varieties. "Whether 

 these early maturing sorts, when obtained, will outyield the flint 

 varieties is an open question. 



Among the mistakes made l)y farmers regarding seed com one of the 

 most commion is that of depending on selecting the best ears from the 

 crib at planting time rather than selecting the ears from the best stalks 

 at harv^esting time. The seed ears must be thoroughly dried before 



Flint corn plant 



