78 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



maize of the lower country, called morochu and cajna, as at 

 present exists between our cultivated corns, — the pop-corns, 

 flint-corns, and dent-corns of our fields and gardens. Tradi- 

 tions of the ninth century in Central America speak of the 

 yellow and white. Cartier, in 1535, describes the maize at 

 Hochelaga, now jNIontreal, "as great and somewhat bigger 

 than small peason," — a description that would apply to the 

 Canada corn of to-da}*. Acosta, in 1509, describes the corn 

 of the West Indies and the Spanish INIain as " although the 

 graine be bigg, yet find they great store thereof, so as in 

 some clusters I have told seven hundred grains," — a men- 

 tion which might describe the dent-corns of to-day. In 1620, 

 Nov. 25, the explorers of the Pilgrims unearthed buried corn 

 " of this year, some yellow, and some red, and others mixt 

 with blue ; "' and Josselyn writes, that of the three sorts, red, 

 yellow, and blue, the blue is commonly ripe before the others 

 a month. It seems clear that the Indians cultivated the 

 varieties described as King Philip, Mandan, Pueblo, Sioux, 

 Squaw, Tuscarora, and Wyandotte, and probably sweet corns. 

 So general, indeed, was the cultivation of corn, that it is men- 

 tioned by nearly all the early explorers, and, so far as we can 

 gather from their writings, its general character was the same 

 as it is now. We have hence an antiquity of culture indi- 

 cated in these great variations and adaptations ; and, indeed, 

 so changed has corn become, that we do not recognize its 

 wild progenitor, even if we have discovered it. 



The practical importance of these remarks consists in the 

 fact, that, as corn has been highl}^ variable and has readily 

 adapted itself to varied conditions, we shall expect the plant 

 to be more variable in our civilized hands, and to readily 

 conform to such demands as arc intelligently made upon it. 

 What has already been accomplished in this line may be 

 seen by an examination of the three hundred and seven 

 specimens I have placed on exliibition to-day. The lengths 

 of ears vary from one inch to fourteen inches and a half; 

 the circumferences, from two inches and three-fourths to 

 nine inches and a half; the weight, from a quarter ounce 

 to eighteen ounces ; the number of rows, from four to forty. 

 We also find a great variety in the colors ; such as amber, 

 flesh-colored, white, tawny, yellow, orange, coppery red, 

 purple, blue, black, and variegated, as well as various shades 



