50 



FIELD CROPS 



It is grown chiefly for human food and is highly prized as a 

 table vegetable both when green and fresh in the summer 

 and when canned or dried for winter use. There are many 

 varieties of sweet corn, differing in size and in length of time 



they require to mature. 



The stalks are smaller and 

 finer than the stalks of most 

 varieties of dent corn. 

 Sweet corn is grown very 

 little for feed for animals, 

 except that it is sometimes 

 used for fodder or for early 

 fall feed for live stock. 



56. Pop Com. Popcorn 

 is grown only as human 

 food to be eaten when pop- 

 ped; that is, when the ker- 

 nels have been puffed by 

 heating. It is this peculiar 

 character from which it 

 gets its name. The kernels 

 are covered with a hard, 

 flinty covering as are the 

 kernels of flint corn; in fact, 

 a large proportion of the 

 kernel is hard and flinty. 

 Some kernels are sharp- 

 pointed at the crown, while 

 others are rounded and 

 smooth hke flint kernels. The kernels, ears and plants 

 are very much smaller than the other kinds of corn men- 

 tioned. On this account it is of little value for the produc- 

 tion of feed for live stock. 



57. Varieties. A study of local varieties is necessary and 

 advisable, but there are far too many named varieties in the 



Figure 14. — An ear of sweet corn of the 

 Stowell' 8 Evergreen type. A large, 

 late variety. 



