178 FIELD CROPS FOR THE COTTON+BELT 



217. Zea Mays canina. A species of maize found 



growing wild in Mexico and thought to be a fourth or fifth 



generation produced by the crossing of teosinte and the 



black Mexican corn. The plants of this species are 

 branched, each plant producing nu- 

 merous small ears in the leaf axils of 

 the lateral branches. The ears range 

 from 2 to 4 inches in length and pro- 

 duce from 4 to 8 

 rows of kernels. 



218. Zea Mays 

 tunicata, or pod- 

 corn. An uncom- 

 mon species, char- 

 acterized by the fact 

 that each kernel is 

 inclosed in a pod or 

 husk and the ear 

 inclosed- in husks 

 (Fig. 30). The ker- 

 nels are rather small 



and occur in many colors such as red, 



white, yellow, and variegated as well as 



in different forms such as sweet, dent, 



and flint. Pod-corn is supposed by 



some to be a primitive type bred from 



a wild grass of Central America by a 



race of people called Mayas who once 



inhabited the regions now known as 



Yucatan and Guatemala. This surmise, however, seems 



to lack definite evidence. 



219. Zea Mays everata, the pop-corns (Figs. 31, 32). - 



The varieties of this species are characterized by the fact 



FIG. 30. A small 

 ear of the pod- 

 corn group. 



FIG. 31. An ear of 

 White rice pop-corn. 



