176 FIELD CROPS FOR THE COTTON-BELT 



and stems being slenderer than those of maize. As in the 

 case of teosinte, gama-grass branches, producing a tassel- 

 like structure at the top and at the end of each branch. 

 Each tassel produces both staminate and pistillate flowers, 

 the former being borne on the lower part of the tassel and 

 the latter on the upper part. 



The general opinion is that either teosinte, gama-grass, 

 or some rather closely related grass is the progenitor of 

 maize. 



"It is assumed that wild maize was a branched plant 

 containing perfect flowers (both carpels and stamens) 

 on the terminal tassel and, also, at the end of the branches. 

 Since the plant is wind fertilized and the pollen tends to 

 fall, the carpellate flowers in the terminal tassel would be 

 less perfectly pollenized than those on the branches below. 

 The pollen on the branches would tend to fall on the 

 ground, thus being of little value. The plants which had 

 the greatest development of carpels on the branches and 

 of stamens in the terminal tassel would tend to survive. 

 As the end of a branch became laden with a collection of 

 grains (ear) the short branch would best hold the ear 

 from drooping. Thus the culm of the branch (now called 

 the shank) has become a succession of nodes with shorter 

 internodes. Each node still bears the sheath of the leaf, 

 the blade being reduced in size or aborted. This collection 

 of leaf-sheaths is called the husk. The branch has been 

 telescoped." l 



There is a slight difference of opinion as to the character 

 of the modification resulting in the formation of an ear 

 of maize from the original tassel-like structure. The 

 generally accepted theory is that the ear is the result of 

 the fusing or growing together of four or more of the pistil- 

 1 Hunt, " Cereals in America," p. 145. 



