l8o THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



follows : grains broader than deep, as deep as broad, and deepei 

 than broad. It may be further subdivided according to even- 

 ness of ear : shallow rounding, moderately rounding, or deeply 

 rounding at butt ; and still further subdivided in accordance with 

 the shape of ear, number of rows per ear, and color of grains. 



246. Soft Maize is that type in which the endosperm is white, 

 the corneous endosperm being entirely absent. The shape and 

 outward appearance of the grain is similar to that of the flint 

 type, but varies in size from not much larger than grains of pop 

 maize to the largest known. The variety Cuzco from Peru has 

 grains fifteen-sixteenths inch deep by eleven-sixteenths inch 

 broad. The color is quite variable. The ears resemble those 

 of the flint type, but are usually shorter, with slightly larger 

 diameter. 



This type is widely distributed and apparently w^as largely 

 grown by the Indians on account of the ease with which it could 

 be crushed. It is not grown for commercial purposes in North 

 America. It is said that in some instances it is grown in place 

 of sweet maize for eating green along the western coast of South 

 America. Most of the varieties experimented with in the United 

 States have either not matured or else have been very late in 

 maturing. 



247. Sweet Maize is that type in which the endosperm is 

 translucent and horny in appearance, the starch having been 

 more or less reduced to sugar. 



"What is probably a variation from this type is described by Sturtevant as starchy- 

 sweet com {Zea amyleasaccJtarata Sturt.). In this type the lower half of the grain is 

 starchy, the upper half horny and translucent ; otherwise it is like the ordinary 

 sweet type. Varieties of this type were found in the San Pedro Indian collection, 

 but failed to mature at Geneva, N. Y. 1 



The grains of sweet maize are usually broadly wedge-shaped, 

 with more or less rounded summit and a characteristically 

 wrinkled surface. While varying largely, a typical grain is one- 



1 BuL Torr. Bot. Club, Vol. XXI, No. 8, p. 334. 



