EXPERIMENT STATION REPORT 197 



to the stalk." (5) "The ear was small to medium, quality good for early 

 corn, and plant was productive." (6) "This variety yields well with short, 

 large-grained, wcll-lilled ears. It is a sweet corn of excellent quality," (7) 

 "The size of plant was about five feet and the ear was perfect. The quality 

 of the grain was small and very sweet." (8) "The ears were well filled and 

 had straight rows of corn. The quality of corn was excellent." (9) "The 

 height of stalk was seven feet; the ears, which were well-filled, were seven 

 inches long. The corn was very sweet and of good quality." (10) "The 

 ears were short but were filled out with good-sized grains of fine flavor." 

 (10) "The corn turned out very fine. The stalks measured eight feet, four 

 inches." (11) "I planted the corn and it was fine. It had a very nice ear 

 and a good-sized grain and w^as very sweet." (12) "Stalks were of good 

 size and so were the ears. Large grains." (13) "Good quality of grain." 

 (14) "It had a nice ear and fine quality. A very good table corn with not a 

 very large stalk." (15) "The plant was large and vigorous with large and 

 abundant ears, perfect in shape and filled well out to tip. The eating quality 

 was fine. The germinating power was 100 per cent. The corn was very 

 satisfactory and by comparison with other early corn, planted at same time 

 and under similar conditions, was very superior." 



"IOWA SILVER MINE-STOWELL's EVERGREEN" CROSS (144-93J. 



This block of forty-five hills was planted J\lay 12th and, in 

 spite of the poor soil and very dry June and the first half of 

 July, made a growth that was altogether satisfactory for sweet 

 corn. Some of the ears were mature and gathered for seed in 

 early September. 



A word as to the history of this cross is opportune because of 

 quite an unusual kind in the breeding of sweet corn. In 1906, 

 the "Iowa Silver Mine" was planted as a breeder among a list 

 of the standard varieties of sweet corn. This favorite kind of 

 field dent corn was procured from a grower of pedigree seed 

 corn in Iowa and even upon poor soil it showed its great vigor by 

 growing to almost twice the height of the sweet sorts that sur- 

 rounded it. Owing to its being much slower in coming into 

 flower, crosses were secured only between a few sorts, usually 

 of the later group. As the grains of the "Iowa Silver Mine" 

 are strongly starch-bearing, the mixing of this variety at once 

 marked itself upon the sweet sorts by the crossed grains follow- 

 ing the male parent in the starch-producing quality. Such dent 

 grains standing among the sweet wrinkled grains of the other- 

 wise sweet ears, were selected for planting last year (1907) when 

 a crop was secured, in which many of the grains (probably one- 

 quarter) were sweet and wrinkled when mature. It was from 

 these sweet grains that the planting was made the present season. 



There were ample means of comparing the growth of the 

 "Iowa Silver Mine-Stowell" cross plants with both sweet and 

 field corns that were grown upon the same general area and it 

 is clear that the union has resulted in an increase of vitality as 

 shown by the ability of the plants to obtain moisture during a 



