84 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Btand it. I do not see why these red kernels should not be 

 mixed in with yellow kernels, the same as any other two 

 varieties ; but they do not come so ; they come clear red ears. 

 I should 1)6 glad to have that explained. 



Dr. Halsted. There is f^aid to be a black sheep in every 

 flock, and so you can go through the whole round of nature 

 and you will find these " sports," as they are called, — distinct 

 deviations from the normal type. I will not attempt to ex- 

 plain why it is. You will find in the human species such a dif- 

 ference in one individual from a class, that if it has white 

 hair and so on, ycm may call it an albino. And so it runs 

 through both the animal and vegetable kingdoms. That may 

 be a reversion to au ancestral form. 



Mr. Shepard. If those white kernels and yellow kernels 

 that the gentleman speaks of, are planted separately, away 

 from the influence of any other plant, will those kernels pro- 

 duce white and yellow grains, or will they be mixed? Will 

 the corn that comes from those seeds be yellow or will it be 

 w^hite ? 



Dr. Halsted. If I understand the question, it is like 

 this : We have had produced on a stalk growing from a 

 white kernel, we will say, an ear that has upon it a number 

 of yellow grains; the question is, will the yellow grains de- 

 velop yellow grains ? I am not sure of it, because there are 

 so many inter-crossings that you cannot tell just what the 

 second product from the cross will be. The tendency to run 

 back to the type is very strong, and it may be that in the 

 next generation you will have white and yellow grains from 

 the mixture. You are not sure. I do not know as you can 

 lay down any law in regard to that. The whole matter of 

 progress has been interfered with. The current has been 

 broken up. You have had two streams running in, and you 

 are not able to tell what the result will be. 



Question. Does this red corn ever mix with any other 

 kind? 



Dr. Halsted. I don't recollect any instance of the kind. 



Mr. SnEPAED. I have seen red grains mixed in with other 

 colored grains on the same ear oftentimes, but red corn does 

 adhere very tenaciously to its color, as if it was a strong 

 variety. 



