150 THE CHIEF SOUTHERN AGRICULTURAL CROPS 



varieties, and hence can be grown somewhat farther 

 north. They are extensively grown in New England 

 and Canada. Some of the varieties are also very 

 hardy under tropical conditions. The ordinary dent 

 corns fail entirely when planted in Cuba, but the 

 native corn, which is a j^ellow flint variety, thrives 

 and yields fair crops. The flint corns are usually 

 yellow, though white and bluish varieties also occur. 

 The flour or horse-tooth corns are mostly grown in the 

 uplands of Mexico. They have very large soft white 

 kernels that are easily beaten into meal in the rude 

 native mortars. They are grown somewhat in the 

 Southern states, especially for fodder, but they have 

 little commercial importance. Coming from the 

 Mexican uplands, they thrive no better in Cuba than 

 the Northern dent corns. The sweet corns so univer- 

 sally planted at the North for table use and for can- 

 ning are comparatively little known at the South. 

 They can be grown successfully in all parts of the 

 Southern states and should be much more widely 

 planted, as they are so superior for the table. The 

 fodder, too, is greatly relished by cattle and horses. 

 Unfortunately they cannot be grown in Cuba. The 

 pop corns are of comparatively little importance and 

 yet they can hardly be omitted from the household 

 resources. 



During recent years notable progress has been 

 made in improving varieties of corn. Not only have 

 strains been developed that give largely increased 

 yields, but very notable success has been achieved in 

 selecting strains that are especially adapted for 

 different purposes. It has been demonstrated that 



