PLANTS. 73 



produced only a few small seeds or bulbs, in a culti- 

 vated state produce many large ones. Seeds whose 

 coverings offer almost complete resistance to the 

 teeth of animals, offer none to the teeth of mod- 

 ern machinery, and are converted into numerous 

 kinds of wholesome and nutritious foods. 



INDIVIDUAL PLANTS INDIAN CORN. 



Indian Corn, or Maize, belongs to the family of 

 grasses. This can easily be seen by a close obser- 

 vation of the leaves and stalk. It will be found 

 that the veins run parallel, and that the stalk is 

 jointed like that of grass. The stalk is somewhat 

 tubular, the outer body being hard and tough, giving 

 it great strength. The inside is made up of a soft, 

 cellular, pithy mass with parallel, fibrous strings, 

 running lengthwise from joint to joint, similar to 

 the veins in the leaves. 



The corn plant grows from six to fifteen feet high. 

 It is from a light or yellowish green to a dark green 

 in color during the growing season, the composition 

 of the soil and the amount of rain-fall making the 

 difference in color. When the ripening of the 

 grain begins, and the food stuffs are withdrawn 

 from the stalks and leaves, the color changes to 

 yellow and brown, with sometimes a tinge of 

 orange and red. 



The plant has but one central shaft, there being 

 no branches. The leaves are arranged alternately 



