VARIETIES OF MAIZE 



I»l 



half inch deep, three-eighths inch wide by one-eighth inch thick. 

 One hundred grains commonly weigh from twenty to twenty- 

 seven grams, or from 1,700 to 2,800 grains per pound. The 

 plant is reported to vary in height from two to ten feet ; usually 

 from five to eight feet, and not infrequently bears more than 

 one ear. There is considerable tendency to sucker. The ears 

 vary in length from four to eleven inches ; usually from six to 



eight inches, and in diameter from 

 one and one-fourth to t^vo and one- 

 fourth inches ; usually from one and 

 one-half to one and three-fourths 

 inches. The rows vaiy from eight 

 to twenty-four, the greater number of 

 varieties being twelve-rowed. Stowell 

 Evergreen, the variety most exten- 

 sively grown for canning purposes, is 

 somewhat larger : ear seven to nine 

 and one-half inches long, diameter 

 two and one-fourth inches; twelve 

 to twenty-rowed. 



The weight of ear varies largely 

 with variet}^, those of early varieties 

 being much smaller than late varie- 

 ties. Selected ears have been found 

 to vary from seven and a half pounds 

 to seventy-five pounds per hundred, 

 the most common weight being from twenty-five to forty pounds 

 per hundred for selected ears. 



The time required to bring sweet maize into edible condi- 

 tion varies with variety, climate and season from fifty-four to 

 115 days ; usually from sixty to ninety days. From the earliest 

 to the latest varieties there is a difference in any one season of 

 from three to four weeks. Sweet maize is extensively raised for 

 cooking and eating while in the milk stage. It forms the basis 



Sweet maize : variety, Stowell Ever- 

 green. Ear and cross section one- 

 third natural size; grain natural 

 size. 



