182 FIELD CROPS FOR THE COTTON-BELT 



large canning industries, the canned product being shipped 

 to all parts of the world. Most varieties of this type will 

 mature within from 70 to 100 days. 



224. Zea Mays amylea-saccharata, a starchy sweet 

 corn. Its chief characteristic is that the lower half of 

 the kernel is starchy and the upper half horny and trans- 

 lucent. This type is not common. 



225. Zea Mays japonica. A corn sometimes culti- 

 vated for ornamental purposes, the leaves being striped, 



FIG. 35. An ear of the sweet corn group. 



green and white. The grains are small, resembling pop- 

 corn or the small flint types. 



226. Zea Mays hirta. This corn is found mostly 

 in South America and is characterized by the hairy nature 

 of the leaves and sheaths. 



227. Varieties. Several hundred distinct varieties of 

 corn are now in existence. So far as known to the author, 

 no complete catalogue of corn varieties has been prepared 

 within recent years. Sturtevant, in 1898, listed 507 

 named varieties and 163 synonyms. Of these 507 varieties 

 Sturtevant classed 323 as dent corn, 69 as flint corn, 63 

 as sweet corn, 27 as soft corn and 25 as pop-corn. Many 

 varieties have come into existence since the publication 

 of SturtevamVs classification. 



The nomenclature of corn varieties, especially in the 



