MAIZE 



93 



every stigma is sure to receive some. But if a small 

 number of plants are alone, or if they are scattered 

 sparsely over the land, there will be so little pollen in the 

 air that many stigmas will 

 receive none of it ; then the 

 grains will be scattered 

 over the cob instead of en- 

 tirely covering it. 



Sterile Plants. In every 

 field some plants bear no 

 ears. Plants that bear no 

 fruit are called sterile. 

 These plants are valueless. 

 By scattering their pollen, 

 these plants without ears . 



FIG. 72. 



have descendants, which 

 inherit their sterility. In 

 a field from which seed is to be taken, the top of every 

 sterile plant should be removed before its pollen is scat- 

 tered. In this way the sterile plants have been reduced 

 in a single year from 8.1 1 per cent to 3.44 per cent. 



How tall have you seen maize grow? How many ears have you 

 ever seen on a stalk ? Which inflorescence appears first on the stalk? 

 What is the color of maize "silk"? Why do some ears have only few 

 seeds? How many rows of seeds usually grow on a cob? 



Draw a stalk of maize showing inflorescences. 



Draw the flowers of maize, and name the parts. 



Uses of Maize. Maize is useful in several ways. When 

 milk-ripe that is, just before the grain hardens it is 



Ear of maize inclosed in the husk, 

 an ear with husk partly removed, and 

 two cross sections 



