CORN 



CORNUS 



851 



to 3 cents a pound. Pop-corn is considered a very 

 profitable crop and less likely to fail than field corn 

 because it matures earlier. A good return to the acre 

 would be twenty to twenty-five bushels of ear corn, 

 worth from $20 to $50, averaging about $30. Field 

 corn in the same region averages about fifty-five bush- 

 els, worth usually from $20 to $25 an acre. 



Varieties. 



In 1899, Sturtevant described twenty-five varieties 

 of pop-corn. Tracy, in his "American Varieties of 

 Vegetables for the Years 1901 and 1902," enumerated 

 fifty-four varieties. The rice pop-corns are generally 

 used for commercial plantings. White Rice is now the 

 leading commercial variety of pop-corn, since it gives 

 the greatest yield and also brings the highest price 

 on the market. In the noted region about Odebolt, 

 Iowa, this variety is grown almost exclusively. The 

 following list includes the leading varieties: 



White Rice. Ear 4 to 8 inches long. This vigorous, 

 late variety is widely cultivated. With other rice 

 corns, it is characterized by deep, tapering, beaked 

 kernels. 



White Pearl. Ear 4 to 8 inches long. Matures some- 

 what earlier than Rice and later than Dwarf Golden. 

 Kernels round and silvery white. 



Dwarf Golden. Ear 1 to 3 inches long. An early- 

 maturing sort, with broad, golden yellow kernels. A 

 favorite garden variety. 



Golden Tom Thumb. Ear 2 to 1 1 A inches long. An 

 ornamental variety for home gardens. The stalks only 

 grow to a height of about 20 inches. The kernels are 

 bright and golden yellow. 



Other kinds of pop-corn worthy of mention are 

 Golden Queen, Silver Lace, and California Yellow. 



S. A. BEACH. 



CORNCOCKLE: Lychnis Githago. 



CORNEL, CORNELIAN CHERRY: Cornus mas. 



CORNFLOWER: Centaurea Cyanus. 



CORN POPPY of Europe is the weed of the grain 

 fields from which some of the garden poppies have been 

 raised, Papaver Rhoeas. 



CORN-SALAD (Valerianella olitoria, Poll.). Valeri- 

 anacese. A spring and summer salad and pot-herb 

 plant. 



Annual: mature plant 4-6 in. tall, forking: radical 

 Ivs. tufted (the parts used), oblong and obtuse, nar- 

 rowed at the base, entire or few-toothed; st.-lvs. nar- 

 row, often clasping: fls. very small, in small terminal 

 cymes, whitish: fr. (seed) nearly globular, gray, not 

 crested. S. Eu. V. eriocdrpa, Desv., of S. Eu. and 

 N. Afr., is sometimes cult, as salad: Ivs. longer and 

 lighter-colored: fr. (seed) flattened, pale brown, 

 crested. Known also as lamb's lettuce, fetticus, and 

 vetticost. 



Sow the seed of corn-salad in early spring, at the time 

 of the first sowing of lettuce, and make successional 

 plantings as often as desired. For very early salads 

 the seeds are planted in September, and the young 

 plants are covered with a light mulch and wintered 

 exactly as spinach is often managed. Sow in drills a 

 foot or 18 inches apart and cover lightly. Work the 

 ground thoroughly, and give an abundance of water. 

 The leaves may be blanched, but are usually eaten 

 green. It matures in sixty to sixty-five days during 

 good spring weather. Only one variety is offered by 

 most American seedsmen, but several sorts are known 

 to European gardeners. It is sometimes used for a 

 pot-herb, being served like spinach, but is chiefly 

 valuable for salads. It is rather tasteless, and is not so 

 popular as cress or lettuce on that account, but per- 

 sons who prefer a very mild salad, or who would rather 

 taste the salad dressing, will doubtless fancy corn-salad. 



It is best served in mixture with other herbs, as lettuce, 

 water-cress or white mustard. It is easy to grow. 

 There are no special enemies. f\ A. WATJGH. 



CORNUS (ancient Latin name of Cornus mas). 

 Cornacese. DOGWOOD. Woody plants (one or two infre- 

 quently cultivated herbs), grown for their attractive 

 flowers and fruits; some species also for the winter effect 

 of their brightly colored branches. 



Shrubs or trees, rarely herbs: Ivs. opposite, rarely 

 alternate or whorled, deciduous, entire: fls. small, 

 4-merous, usually white, in terminal cymes (Fig. 1061) 

 or heads; calyx-teeth minute; petals valvate; style 

 simple, filiform or cylindric; ovary inferior, 2-celled: 

 fr. a drupe with a 2-celled stone. About 40 species in 

 the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere and 

 one in Peru. Monograph by Wangerin in Engler, 

 Pflanzenreich, hft. 41, pp. 43-92, quoted below as Wang. 



The dogwoods are hardy ornamental shrubs with 

 handsome foliage, often assuming a brilliant fall color- 

 ing, and with attractive flowers and fruits. Nearly all are 

 very desirable for planting in shrubberies. They grow 

 nearly as well in shady places under large trees as in 

 sunny exposed situations, and thrive in almost any soil. 

 One of the most beautiful in bloom is C. florida, with 

 extremely showy flowers in spring. C, racemosa is 

 one of the best for shrubberies, blooming profusely in 

 June. The red-branched species, as C. alba, C. Amomurn, 

 C. Baileyi, C. sanguinea are very attractive in winter. 

 Propagated by seeds, which usually do not germinate 

 until the second year. The species with willow-like 

 soft wood, as C. alba and its allies, grow readily from 

 cuttings of mature wood, while the others are some- 

 times increased by layers. They 

 are often grown in this country 

 from nearly ripened cuttings 



1061. Cornus winter 

 shoots, showing the op- 

 posite buds and terminal 

 flower-clusters. Cornus 

 Baileyi. 



1062. Cutting of Cornus. 



