262 



TROPICAL AGRICULTURE 



CHAP. 



Varieties, 



The variety 

 best suited 

 to the West 

 Indies. 



Improve- 

 ment of the 

 quality. 



Long continued cultivation in different climates and soils, 

 and cross fertilisation of separate kinds, have produced in- 

 numerable varieties of maize^ suited to the various condi- 

 tions under which the plant is grown. The varieties are 

 distinguished chiefly by the characters of the seed. Thus, 

 in regard to colour, there are the white, red, and yellow. In 

 regard to the number of rows of seeds on the cob, there 

 are the eight, ten, twelve, or twenty-four rowed kinds. In 

 regard to the shape of the seeds there are rice corn, horse- 

 tooth corn, and other descriptions. And, in respect to the 

 flavour, there is the sweet corn used as a vegetable, and the 

 common kinds used for food for man or grain for animals. 

 Again, there are varieties suited to different climates and 

 soils. 



In the West Indies the common eight rowed yellow corn 

 is the hardiest and best for general cultivation ; but, unfor- 

 tunately, owing to bad cultivation, and carelessness in the 

 selection of seed, this kind has deteriorated in many of the 

 islands. A careful planter, however, may in a few seasons 

 greatly increase the quality and yield of his corn, by simply 

 selecting seeds from the best plants in the field, and then 

 choosing the finest ears from these plants, and sowing only 

 the largest seed in the ears. If this system be kept up for two 

 or three years, the beneficial change will be most marked. 



The best 

 soil. 



Drainage 

 necessary. 



Soil. — Maize grows well in widely different soils, and it 

 can be profitably cultivated, according to one authority, " on 

 " a soil so poor as one containing ninety per cent, of sand." 

 But, of course, the richer the soil the larger will be the 

 returns. The best soil is a sandy loam such as is found on 

 alluvial flats by the banks of rivers, and the loams formed by 

 the disintegration of volcanic rocks in many parts of the 

 West Indies arc admirably adapted to the cultivation. 

 Clays and cold wet lands are to be avoided, for maize requires 

 a well drained soil through which the long roots can easily 

 penetrate. 



