CORN OR MAIZE 47 



been called soft corn. Such an examination will reveal the 

 fact that no hard endosperm is present, but that the entire 

 endosperm is made up of soft starch. So soft are the ker- 

 nels of this type of corn that even when they mature they 

 can sometimes be dented with the thumb nail. Soft corn 

 is usually a large, rank-growing plant requiring a long 

 growing season to come to its maturity. For this reason 

 it is not grown to any extent in the United States. One 

 variety, sometimes called Squaw corn, which has a com- 

 paratively short growing season, is 

 grown in the Dakotas and other 

 Northwestern States. Another 

 variety, Brazilian flour corn, is 

 sometimes grown for the silo. Soft 

 corn is more commonly grown in 

 Mexico, Central America, and por- 

 tions of South America, which have 

 long growing seasons, although 

 compared with dent or flint corn it 

 is not of much commercial im- FI G. 11. Cross section 



mi T j- i of a kernel of soft corn. 



portance. The Indians are said 



to have grown it extensively on account of the ease of 

 grinding it into meal. Soft corn is believed to be one of 

 the oldest types of corn, since it has been found in the 

 mounds of prehistoric tribes in southwestern United States 

 and on the west coast of South America. The ears of soft 

 corn are similar in appearance to those of the flint type. 

 The kernels are usually large, sometimes measuring as 

 much as three-fourths of an inch in breadth. 



38. Sweet corn. In this type of corn little starch has 

 been developed in the kernels, and almost all of the carbo- 

 hydrate is in the form of sugar, giving them a distinctly 

 sweet taste. The grains are usually broad wedge shaped, 



