botany pertinent to the relative ages of corn, teosinte 
and ‘T'ripsacum indicate that teosinte is of recent origin. 
This also can be explained by the theory that teosinte 
originated as a hybrid between corn and Tripsacum. 
It should be emphasized that all the facts discussed 
above are not merely in agreement with the theory of the 
hybrid origin of teosinte, but also that they are explained 
by this theory. The odds are extremely low that a the- 
ory can explain so many facts, drawn from so many 
sources, without being somewhat of an approximation 
of the truth. Although other current theories are not 
completely disproved, they do not explain so many of 
the facts. 
The question of whether or not teosinte should be re- 
garded as generically distinct from corn is not a part of 
the problem of the origin of corn or teosinte. The known 
facts indicate, however, that the relationship conforms 
best to that of congeneric species. 
[ 883 ] 
