CORN 153 



desired to grow them. The kinds mentioned mature in 

 the latter part of summer and are especially abundant in 

 old pastures or other places containing much decaying 

 organic matter and during moist weather. If an attempt 

 is made to grow them, it would probably be necessary 

 to keep the ground moist all summer to secure the best 

 results. 



THE GRASS FAMILY (Order Gramineae) 



The Grass Family has many well-known general charac- 

 teristics. It includes many species and produces the greater 

 part of the food of the human race either directly as seed 

 or indirectly as meat, and yet only corn is ordinarily grown 

 in vegetable gardens. Among the most important food 

 plants belonging here are wheat, rye, oats, barley, rice, 

 corn, sorghum, and sugar cane. The wild rice grows in 

 great abundance in some portions of Minnesota and Wiscon- 

 sin and was an important article of food among the Indians. 



CORN (Zea mays) 



Description. Native of America. An annual. The male 

 flowers are in the tassel and the female flowers on the cob. 

 While cross-fertilization is not absolutely necessary for the 

 production of seed, it is necessary for a good crop. The 

 varieties of corn may be easily grouped under four classes: 

 (1) Sweet corn, which includes varieties with soft and 

 generally much wrinkled kernels, that are especially desir- 

 able for use in a green state on account of their being 

 sweeter and more delicate in flavor than other kinds. (2) 

 Flint corn, which includes field varieties having a very hard, 

 smooth grain. (3) Dent corn, which includes field varieties 

 rather softer in texture than the flint corn, each kernel 

 having a depression in the end of it. (4) Pop corn, which 

 has a kernel of flinty hardness and is used almost entirely 



