150 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



distinctly projecting is a character of decided permanence in the group of cap fllntl 



extensively grown in Connecticut and Rhode Island. 



The furrows, or sulci, between rows may be absent, apparent, narrow, distinct, oi 

 very distinct. 



Grains may be Jtrm, loose or mosaic-like, when through pressure their edges be* 

 come faceted. The grains may be at right angles to cob, upright ; leaning forward, 

 sloping^ or may slope forward with apex slightly overlapping, imbricated. 



The ear stalk may be nearly or quite the diameter of the cob, large, or about half 

 the diameter of the cob, meditim, or one-third the diameter or less, small. (243) 



221. Two-Eared Varieties. — Under ordinary conditions of 

 culture, and particularly with dent varieties, only one ear is pro- 

 duced on each stalk. In some types, as in pop and sweet 

 varieties, the tendency to produce several ears is quite marked. 

 The tendency is more marked in flint than in dent varieties in 

 ordinary field culture. Bailey raised thirty-four ears from one 

 seed of Zea canma} twenty-five being on the main stalk. 

 Sturtevant has raised twenty-three ears from one grain of flint 

 maize, and reports as claimed from twelve to nineteen ears per 

 stalk in pop maize ; ten or more in flint maize and six to four- 

 teen in dent maize. 



The thickness of planting, soil and season influence the num- 

 ber of ears per plant. By varying the number of grains per hill 

 from one to five in the case of Waushakum flint maize, Sturte- 

 vant varied the number of ears from 4.6 to 1.2 per plant. 



** Among the many varieties which have been tested at the station those which 

 produce usually one ear to the stalk have given smaller yields than those which have 

 produced a greater number of ears. It is quite possible, however, to increase the 

 number of the ears at the expense of the total yield of grain. Three years ago a 

 correspondent sent us a stalk bearing seven ears, and an accompanying letter offered 

 a supply of the seed for twelve dollars a bushel. A Avorkman was sent to one of the 

 station fields with orders to bring the first five stalks he could find, each of which 

 had two ears. Both lots were dried thoroughly before shelling, and in every case 

 the grain from the stalks bearing two ears outweighed that from the seven-eared 

 stalk. We have found no variety which produces uniformly one, two, or any other 

 number of ears, but have found the ears to vary from 86 to 537 on one hundred 

 stalks, counted as they stood in the rows. The best yields have come from those 

 varieties which produce from 175 to 200 ears to one hundred stalks, and we have 

 endeavored to find or to produce a variety which should have uniformly two ears on 



* K virietv of pop maize. 



