GRASSES OF IOWA. 



19 



ripened ear breaks readily at the joint, so that the eight-rowed ear, for 

 example, may be separated into several joints, each bearing two oppo- 

 site pairs of kernels." 



This maize has also been cultivated by Professor Bailey, who car- 

 ried on some very interesting experiments with hybrids. 



Prof. F. Lamson-Scribner has likewise cultivated the corn and had 

 it under observation at Washington, D. C, and Knoxville, Tenn. 



The writer has also had this corn under observation here at Ames. 

 By giving the plant an early start in the greenhouse a few mature ker- 

 nels were developed late in the season. It had all the characters first 

 described above by Doctor Watson, and showed no tendency to hybrid- 

 ize with the varieties of maize 'occurring alongside of it. The writer 

 has also had under observation the so-called popcorn of Mexico. The 

 seed was kindly furnished me by Mr. Chas. N. Page, of the Iowa Seed 



/ £ 



Fig. 12. Mexican pop-corn. Iowa Seed Co. (Charlotte M. King.) 



Company. In their growth the plants resembled our ordinary pop-corn. 

 They were, however, taller with larger spaces between the internodes ; in 

 addition they "suckered" somewhat. It appears to me that these Mexi- 

 can pop-corns are distinct from the Zea canina. 



Doctor Harshberger, who is certainly a most careful observer, and 

 who carried on some interesting experiments on hybrids, considers our 

 maize a hybrid between Euchlaena and Zea canina. 



3. COIX. 



Coix. L. Gen. PI. No. 704. 1737 (Ed 1.); No. 1043. 1764 (Ed. 6); 

 Scribner. Bull. U. S. Dept. Agrl. Div. Agros. 20:14 f 4. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Job's Tears. Spikelets unisexual, monoecious, spicate. Stam- 

 inate spikelets in twos or threes at the joints of the rachis, one-half flow- 

 ered. Empty glumes slightly unequal, rigid or herbaceous, inclosing 

 the hyaline flowering glumes and palea. Stamens 3, pistil none. Pis- 

 tillate spikelets, i or 2 at the base of the inflorescence, inclosed or sur- 

 rounded by a nearly glabrous capsule-like covering, from the apex of 

 which the staminate inflorescence projects; glumes thin-membranaceous 



