INDIAN CORN. 



113 



is on this account, probably, that the corn of a given 

 neighborhood tends to assume a common type. It is 

 probable that the different plants of the same variety 

 in a field cross each other freely, and the laws of 

 breeding indicate that this is desirable. It has been 

 proved, however, that the corn plant may be fertilized 

 with its own pollen and produce a well developed ear. 

 Physical Structure. — The physical structure 



Thiety Rowed. 

 both of the whole plant and of the kernel is the most 

 variable of our cereals. The plant may vary from 

 two to twenty feet in height; a variation of from six 

 to twelve feet is not uncommon. Along the Missis- 

 sippi river, south of the 40th parallel, it is not un- 

 usual to see corn growing on which the ears are so 

 high that a man of ordinary height can barely reach 

 them, and some ears cannot be reached. In the 

 northern latitudes of the United States, as in New 



