20 THE BOOK OF CORN 



filled tips and butts, and stalks of medium hight. It is 

 a medium to early maturing variety, ripening in ninety 

 to one hundred and ten days.* 



The Riley's Favorite variety is of early maturity, 

 adapted to the central and northern divisions of Illi- 

 nois. This variety strongly illustrates the fact that im- 

 provement takes place in corn breeding at present 

 through selection without crossing of widely different 

 varieties. Our varieties are sufficiently variable with- 

 out introducing unknown characteristics, and selection 

 will tend to develop these variations along the lines 

 desired by the corn breeder. 



Characteristics — i, ear slowly tapering; 2, cir- 

 cumference 7.1 inches, length 9 inches ; 3, kernels loose 

 on cob and upright; 4, number of rows 16 to 20; 5, 

 space between rows wide ; 6, kernels in distinct pairs 

 of rows, about half of the ears having distinct rows at 

 tips ; 7, butt moderately rounded, compressed ; 8, ker- 

 nels yellow, straight wedge-shape, pinched to rough 

 projection dented, with a tendency in the rough sum- 

 mits to be beaked ; 9, shank medium to small ; 10, cob 

 small, red. 



WHITE SUPERIOR 



History — The history of the White Superior vari- 

 ety as nearly as can be learned from the account of Mr 



*As a matter of fact, neither Mr Riley nor other growers of Riley's 

 Favorite have been able to fix the above characteristics of this variety. 

 One season would develop a certain set of characteristics, while a dif- 

 ferent season would bring out different characteristics. This condition 

 is a result of the cross made in the beginning of selection, in this way 

 mingling together widely differing characteristics. In order to fix any 

 characteristic, it takes years of selection for this point, and the Riley's 

 Favorite has not been selected long enough to give the variety any fixed 

 type. In the illustration of the samples of Riley's Favorite, one from 

 Mr James Riley and the other from Mr T. A. Baldwin, little uniform- 

 ity of characteristics of ear can be found. In a careful examination of 

 these samples, it was clearly demonstrated that little similarity of char- 

 acteristics existed between the two samnles, although Mr Baldwin secured 

 the seed of this variety directly from Mr James Riley only a few years 

 ago. In a shipment from Mr Riley of about twenty-five bushels of 

 Riley's Favorite seed in the ear, a large number of ears resembling the 

 Pride of the North variety and about an equal number of ears similar 

 to the Yellow Mastodon variety were found. A small proportion c/ 

 ears of the Riley's Favorite type could be picked out by careful 

 selection. 



