16 



yielding ninety-nine kernels resulted, only lour of wliieh showed an}' 

 indications of xenia. The other kernels were wliite, exaeth' like the 

 ordinary Hickor}- King. (PI. I, ligs. 1^^ and 14.) On the four kernels 

 which showed xenia the change consisted siui]jly in irregulur spots of 

 the characteristic dark plumbeous color of the Cuzco. Sonic of the 

 kernels showing this effect are illustratc^d in PI. 1, figs. '.)-12. It will 

 be seen by comparing these figures with the plumbeous-colored ker- 

 nels, typical of the Cuzco (PI. I, hgs. 3 and -t), that the dark-colored 

 spots in the kernels resulting from the cross show this color practically 

 the same as in the Cuzco. 



In the summer of 1899 the ninety-nine kernels resulting from this 

 cross were planted at Lincoln, Nebr., one kernel in a hill, and pro- 

 duced seventy-four plants. Forty-four of these, judging from their 

 characters, proved to be true hybrids, while thirty were either hybrids 

 entirely resembling the mother plant or the results of accidental self- 

 fertilization. The original cross was made in the greenhouse, but 

 while the ear which was crossed was carefully inclosed, as in all other 

 experiments, before the silk had pushed out considerable pollen had 

 already fallen on the bracts of the ear, and this, in spite of the pre- 

 cautions taken, would render possible the introduction of foreign 

 pollen ; so that it is quite probable that some of the grains were self- 

 pollinated. The forty-four which the writer takes to be true hj^brids 

 were very markedly influenced by the male parent, so that there can 

 be no doubt of their being genuine hybrids. Indeed, the characters 

 of the male parent seemed to predominate. Hickory King, the mother 

 parent, has normally a rather slender stalk which is light green in 

 color and has ver}" few anchor or brace roots, Avhich do not appear 

 much above the surface of the soil, and very broad leaves. The 

 hvbrids differ from the typical Hickory King in having narrow leaves 

 and much taller and thicker stems, which are purplish, particularly^ at 

 the base, and fade to green above. They also have several circles of 

 anchor roots, usually 3 to 6, which are very prominent, as in the Cuzco, 

 and extend as high as '2 or 3 feet above the ground. The fort3^-four 

 true hybrids ranged in height between 8 feet and 12 feet -4 inches, 

 averaging 9 feet 7 inches; while the thirty plants showing no signs of 

 having been hybridized ranged between 7 feet and 9 feet 3 inches in 

 height, averaging 7 feet 10 inches. A number of plants of the typical 

 Cuzco grown in the same patch averaged about 8 feet in height, while 

 the Hickory King, grown under exacth^ the same conditions, averaged 



the individual crosses under a series are referred to by letter as la, lb, etc., or 2a, 

 2b, etc. In numbering the experiments when they were made there was no effort 

 to group related crosses together and number them in sequence, and thus, when 

 the crosses of dent corn with soft corn, etc., are grouped together as in this paj^er, the 

 numbers of the experiments are not in sequence. The hybrids when grown are 

 numbered in sequence from No. 1 upward, the same numljer never being given to 

 more than one hybrid. 



