On Indian Corn, Potatoes, ^c, 309 



each other in size, form and texture, producing still 

 harder grains, more compactly arranged, but not suf- 

 ficiently so, which, with shorter and slimmer cobs, 

 render them less productive than the two first men- 

 tioned ; but they ripen early, and are considered safer 

 crops in high latitudes. Thirdly, the gourd-seed. The 

 cob of this is nehher so long or thick as the large, so- 

 lid corns ; but the grains are very long, forming a com- 

 pact round, from the cob to the outside surface of the 

 ear, and gradually taper to a point, where they join in- 

 to the cob ; of course it is vastly more productive than 

 any other known original corn, but ripens late, and the 

 grains are too soft and open for exportation, unless 

 kiln dried. This variety, so far as my observation goes, 

 is invariably white ; for although I have frequently 

 heard of a solid yellow gourd-seed corn, yet on inves- 

 tigation, nothing more has appeared than a mixture of 

 the hard yellow corns, with the white gourd-seed. If 

 such an original, firm yellow corn, equally productive 

 with the white gourd-seed, could be procured, it would 

 be invaluable; but by forming a judicious mixture 

 with the gourd- seed and the flinty corn, a variety may 

 be introduced, yielding at least one third more per 

 acre, on equal soil, than any of the solid corns are ca- 

 pable of producing, and equally useful and saleable for 

 exportation. But this mixture should be with the yel- 

 low corns ; that colour being greatly preferred by ship- 

 pers, and is most productive, it having the longest and 

 thickest cobs, and would at least compensate for short- 

 ening the grain of the original gourd-seed ; provided 

 a sufficiency is introduced to lengthen the grain so far 



