CEREALS OR GRAINS 



69 



United States. 



The world's corn crop 



A 



and cellulose. The latter is used as an inside lining below the 



water line for our modern battleships and some steamships. 



The cellulose,, when water strikes it, rapidly fills out and stops 



any ordinary opening made by shot 



and shell in the armor plate of the 



vessel. The blades and shucks afford 



valuable forage for stock if cut while 



green. A very good grade of paper 



and pasteboard can be made from the 



stalks. 



Kinds of Corn. There are many 

 varieties of corn, but the principal ones 

 are known as pod corn, pop corn, 

 soft corn, dent corn, sweet corn, and flint corn. The dent 

 variety is very widely grown, and the yellow and white varieties 

 are familiar to all. The pod corn is a peculiar type in which 

 each grain is covered with a husk in addition to the outside cover- 



Rest of 

 world. 



ing of the ear itself. It is .thought to be the primitive type of 

 all the other varieties. 



Cultivation. The ground should be broken as early in the sea- 

 son as the weather and soil will permit. In the West and South 

 growing conditions are usually more favorable in the spring, as this 



