STRUCTURE OF MAIZE 



15' 



each stalk, as the nearer we have been able to approach such a variety', the greater 

 has been the jrield of grain per acre."' 1 



No tsvo-eared dent variety has ever been produced which has 

 become extensively grown or widely popular. It has not been 

 shown in what way it is easier for a stalk of maize to elaborate 

 the material for two ears than it would be to produce the same 

 grain in one ear. When han-ested by hand, varieties bearing 

 but one ear on a stalk are to be preferred, unless the two oi 

 more eared varieties yield an appreciably larger quantity of 

 grain. On the other hand, when fed to cattle without removing 

 from stalk, t\vo smaller ears might be preferred. For silage, the 

 total yield of grain would be the only consideration. 



222. Barren Stalks. — A var}-ing percentage of the stalks of 

 the field are barren — do not bear any ears. The percentage of 

 barren stalks on a given soil varies with the thickness of plant- 

 ing and the season. Barrenness does not seem to be a variety 

 characteristic. It seems to be largely the result of environ- 

 ment If it were an hereditar}^ characteristic the fact that the 

 stalks are barren would tend to eliminate them. 



223. The Grain. — The maize grain has the same general 

 structure as the w^heat grain. (60) While quite variable, it is 

 characterized by its large size as compared with the seed of 

 any other species of the grass family. The weight of 100 grains 

 may vary from three grams in Miniature pop to 100 grams in 

 Cuzco soft^ It is also greatly different in shape from the grain 

 of the other cereals, the furrow on the side opposite the embr}-o 

 being entirely wanting. In most varieties, the grain is flattened 

 and more or less triangular or oval in shape with its lateral dia- 

 meter greater than the diameter parallel with the axis of the cob, 

 while some varieties have spheroidal and others conical grains. 



Viewed from its broader surface, the grain may be broad above and taper by 

 straight lines to a very narrow base, cuneate wedse-skaped ; or may be broad above 



I Miss. BuL -j^i (1895), pp. 75-76. 



« E. L. Sturtevant: Varieties of Com. U. S. Dept of Agr., OfEce of ExpL Sta. 

 BuL57,p.& 



