SELECTION AMONG CORN 



505 



Leaving out of account the very extensive use of the stems and 

 leaves of the corn plant for forage, and considering only the value 

 of the grain produced, corn breeding may be carried on to secure, 

 among other less important qualities, the following results : 



1. A larger yield per acre. 



2. A higher percentage of any one of the three principal constitu- 

 ents of the grain, starch, proteids, and oil. 



3. Early maturing, for growth in the more northerly states. 



A B 



FIG. 377. Kernels of corn with high and with low proteid contents 



A, high proteids; B, low proteids; />, horny layer, consisting largely of proteids; 

 s, white starchy portion; e, embryo. After University of Illinois Agricul- 

 tural Experiment Station, Bulletin No. 87 



1. Yield. The corn crop of the United States is worth about 

 a billion dollars a year for the grain alone. On farms of the 



FIG. 378. Kernels of corn with high and with low oil contents 



A, Ai, cross and lengthwise section of high oil kernels; B, B\, sections of low 

 oil kernels; e, embryo. Most of the oil is contained in the embryo, so that 

 a large embryo means a large percentage of oil. After University of Illi- 

 nois Agricultural Experiment Station, Bulletin No. 87 



