MAIZE 



MAIZE or Indian Corn (Zea mays) is a favourite 

 vegetable in America, and can be cultivated in this 

 country with great success if the seeds are sown under 

 glass and planted out in rich soil. It is cultivated in all 

 parts of the world, but less in Europe than in others ; 

 doubtless in this country our short summers are not 

 favourable, but when it is considered what a number of 

 vegetables we raise under glass, there is no difficulty in 

 growing very fine cobs of this useful cereal. Some of 

 the dwarfer varieties are more suitable in this country 

 than the very large ones, which need a much longer 

 summer season to mature the growth. By this I do not 

 mean that the corn must be ripe, as in this state it is not 

 used as a vegetable, but the grains in the stalk must be 

 fully developed, though used in a green state. Of late 

 years our home seedsmen have turned their attention to 

 the Maize, offering some of the best or most suitable 

 kinds for culture in this country, and I will note a few of 

 them. In addition there is the Japanese striped variety, 

 valuable as a decorative plant, and much used on the 

 continent, indeed there are few plants that are more 

 beautiful. A few seasons ago I had twelve distinct 

 varieties of the vegetable forms sent me from the States 

 and they were very good indeed, not one failed to make 

 cobs and some grew very quickly, but I failed to ripen 

 seed ; our summers do not permit this. The earliest 

 variety I have grown is the Early Yellow or,Six Weeks, 

 grown in the States under the name of Quarantain ; this 

 is a 3 feet variety and ripens well in this country. 

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