52 



FIELD CROPS 



the dent varieties; the shank of the ears is usually large, 

 making flint corn much harder to husk than dent corn. 

 Flint corn is usually earlier in maturing than most dent 

 varieties, hence it is specially adapted to northern latitudes, 



but it has little agricul- 

 tural value where the more 

 desirable dent varieties 

 thrive. 



55. Sweet Corn. Sweet 

 corn has practically no 

 hard or horny endosperm. 

 Consequently, the whole 

 kernel usually shrinks at 

 maturity, presenting a 

 shrivelled appearance. As 

 indicated by its name, its 

 chief characteristic is that 

 it contains a higher per- 

 centage of sugar than the 

 other types. It is grown 

 chiefly for human food and 

 is highly prized as a table 

 vegetable both when it is 

 green and fresh in the 

 summer and whjen pre- 

 served in that form or 

 dried for winter use. There 

 are many varieties of sweet 

 corn, differing in size and in the length of time they require 

 to mature. The stalks are smaller and finer than the 

 stalks of most varieties of dent corn. Sweet corn is grown 

 very little for feed for animals, except that it is used in 

 some places for fodder or to produce palatable feed for hogs 

 in the early fall. 



Fig. 13. An ear of sweet corn of 

 the Stowell's Evergreen type. A 

 large, late variety. 



