EXPERIMENT STATION REPORT 199 



While the season was unfortunate for the production of sweet 

 corn of the ordinary kinds, it was very favorable as a test of the 

 ability of the cross to make a crop under bad conditions that may 

 not be exceeded for many years to come. The stalks were tall 

 and stout and the ears of fine large size, possibly too large to suit 

 many, but by selecting from the twin ears for future planting 

 there is hope of securing a prolific strain that will be in every 

 way desirable. 



The number of straight-rowed ears exceeded those with zig- 

 zag arrangement of grains. There were many ears that were 

 intermediate in the disposition of the kernels upon the cob. The 

 male parent, "Iowa Silver Mine,' has a "rusty" cob while that of 

 the "Country Gentleman" is white. A count of the ears in this 

 regard showed that, among those selected for seed-saving, there 

 were three times as many "rusty" as white cobs. The oppor- 

 tunity to study this same character in the other seven crosses of 

 "rusty" with white-cobbed sorts brings a result that leads to the 

 general opinion that the "rusty" cob is an ear unum that is 

 dominant over the white in the same way that a dark grain is 

 dominant over a white grain as has been repeatedly shown in 

 previous reports. On account of the cross involving the cob 

 character in question, it is possible to develop two strains as re- 

 gards this unum. It may be an open question which is preferred 

 so long . as the color, when table mature, is only slightly in 

 evidence. 



Wlien the arrangement of the grains is considered along with 

 the cob color, it is seen that at least four strains, possibly, may 

 be derived from the cross, namely, (i) straight-rowed "rusty" 

 cob, (2) straight-rowed white cob, (3) zigzag "rusty" cob and 

 (4) zigzag white cob. The last named will be the most like the 

 mother parent and this derived strain may have at least two 

 qualities somewhat modified, namely, an added earliness — a 

 point to be demonstrated — and a larger ear when grown singly 

 but of desired size when the tendency to produce twins is fully 

 developed. 



The lower half of Plate II shows five ears from the Ijlock 

 planted with pinkish grains — a tint that did not appear in but a 

 few ears. It is to be noted that the zigzag arrangement of the 

 grains is evident in three of the ears. In the upper half of Plate 

 III are shown five other ears from the second block of the same 

 cross. The two with husks are twins and remarkably stout and 

 short, as well as with the grains zigzag. At the right, is an ear 

 that approaches the ideal in shape and depth of grain but, per- 

 haps, too large for the more fasliionable lovers of this vegetable. 



