VARIETIES OF CORN 53 



t 



56. Pop Corn. Pop corn is grown only as human food 

 to be eaten when popped; that is, when the kernels have 

 been exploded or turned inside out by heating. It is this 

 peculiar character from which it gets its name. The kernels 

 are covered with a hard, flinty covering as are the kernels of 

 flint corn; in fact, a large proportion of the kernel is hard and 

 flinty. Some of the kernels are sharp-pointed at the crown, 

 while others are rounded and smooth like flint kernels. 

 The kernels, ears, and plants are very much smaller than the 

 other kinds of corn mentioned. On this account it is of very 

 little value for the production of feed for live stock. 



57. Varieties. A study of local varieties is necessary and 

 advisable, but there are far too many named varieties in the 

 United States to make it worth while to attempt an enumera- 

 tion of them. Any variety of corn is so easily changed by 

 selection that one may not be able to recognize a well- 

 known variety after some other person has been growing and 

 selecting it for some time. This is especially true if it has 

 been grown under different soil and climatic conditions from 

 those in which he has seen it grow before. On this account, 

 variety names are not important, but types of corn and their 

 adaptability to various conditions must be thoroughly under- 

 stood by practical corn growers. (See selection of corn, 

 Sec. 141-153.) A few of the important and widely distrib- 

 uted varieties of corn are Reid's Yellow Dent, Boone 

 County White, Silver Mine, Gold Mine, Legal Tender, 

 Silver King, Minnesota No. 13, and Wisconsin No. 7. 



IMPORTANCE OF THE CROP 



58. World Production. Corn is a tropical plant that is 

 capable of withstanding very little frost. It seems best 

 adapted, however, to the temperate zone and it is here that 

 it reaches its most perfect development. The leading 

 countries in the production of this crop are the United 



