MARKET GRADES 89 



only about half as much space as the same quantity of 

 ear corn. No treatment is ordinarily given to the grain on 

 the farm; it is sold as it comes from the crib. When shipped 

 from the local buyer to the central market, some of the dirt 

 is taken out in shelling, but no large proportion of it is 

 removed. On account of the method of harvesting, however, 

 corn is usually quite free from weed seeds and other foreign 

 matter. A large part of the crop is fed on the farms or in the 

 communities where it is produced. The average shipments 

 out of the country where it is grown do not exceed one 

 fifth of the crop. Illinois, Nebraska, Ohio, and Indiana 

 show the largest percentages of shipments. 



The legal weight of a bushel of shelled corn is 56 pounds; 

 of corn on the ear, 70 pounds. If corn is sold within a short 

 time after it is harvested, while it still contains a high per- 

 centage of moisture, it is customary to allow 75 or even 80 

 pounds to the bushel. Ordinary air-dry corn will shell 

 about 56 pounds of grain to 70 pounds of ears, but an extra 

 good sample may shell as much as 60 pounds. Corn that 

 is held over is likely to shrink about 18 per cent. 



113. Market Grades. Market grades of corn are fixed 

 by the Federal Bureau of Markets, which divides market 

 corn into three general classes, white, j^ellow, and mixed. 

 White corn must be at least 98 per cent white by weight; 

 yellow corn must be at least 95 per cent yellow by weight; 

 and mixed corn includes all corn not coming within the 

 limits of the two classes just named. These three classes 

 are then divided into seven grades for each class, known as 

 No. 1 white. No. 1 yellow, No. 2 white. No. 3 mixed, etc. 

 The lowest grade is known as sample grade. No. 1 corn 

 of each class shall be: 



Cool, and sweet, shall have a test weight per bushel of at least 

 55 pounds, may contain not more than 14 per cent of moisture, may 

 contain not more than 2 per cent of foreign material and cracked com, 

 and may contain not more than 2 per cent of damaged corn and no 

 heat-damaged kernels. 



