ON CORN BREEDING 117 



But almost every one of these varieties is all but uniform. 

 They include all kinds of variations, both in the shape of 

 the kernel and the ear, and in the mode of growth and vege- 

 tative characters of the stalks and foHage. The differences 

 among these minor types within a given variety are often as 

 great as those which distinguish the varieties themselves. 

 As a fact, the varieties are mixtures of a larger or lesser num- 

 ber of constituents, the same sub-types recurring often in 

 more than one so-called variety. 



Moreover, many of these varieties are subjected to abnor- 

 mal deviations from the type or so-called monstrosities, 

 including the most widely divergent forms. Stalked and 

 branched ears, male side-spikes on the ears, kernels in the 

 tassels, cockscomb-ears, hermaphrodite flowers, variegated 

 leaves, and many other features are the well-known instances. 

 They are without practical value, and their hereditary char- 

 acters have accordingly been only imperfectly studied. 

 Such study should not be neglected, however, since the bar- 

 ren stalks, which often cause enormous losses, seem to belong 

 to the same group and to obey, in their manner of inheri- 

 tance, the same laws. But with this phenomenon I shall 

 have to deal later. 



The variability witliin the varieties is the main source of 

 all selection, and, as such, deserves our careful attention. The 

 distinguishing marks are many, but often so minute as to be 

 hardly fit for description. Often they are the same as those 

 between distinct varieties, and in such cases different varie- 

 ties may simply be different mixtures of mainly the same 

 constituents. In some cases the same varieties may even be 

 cultivated locallv under different names. ^Mixing of color 

 is the easiest indication of such a mixing of sub-types; it has 

 attracted the eye of the farmers for a long time, and often 

 led them to some kind of primitive selection, preferring a 

 pure color to the mixture. 



