880 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. IX. No. 234. 



the Department of Agriculture for 1898. Pp. 

 201-212. Pis. I. Figs. 9. 

 Description of the standard Weather Bureau 

 kite and apparatus, with illustrations. 



Proceedings of the Convention of Weather Bureau 



Officials held at Omaha, Nebraska, October 13- 



11^, 1898. Prepared under the direction of 



Willis L. Moore, Chief of Weather Bureau. 



U. S. Department of Agriculture, Weather 



Bureau. Bulletin No. 24. 8vo. Vv'ashing- 



ton, D. C, 1899. Pp. 184. 



This Bulletin contains a large number of 



papers on a wide range of subjects connected 



with the work of the Weather Bureau and with 



the relations of the Bureau to the public. 



R. Dec. Ward. 

 Hakvaed University. 



BOTANICAL NOTES. 



THE VARIETIES OF CORN. 



Several years ago the lamented Dr. Sturte- 

 vant published privately the results of his 

 studies of Indian Corn, with especial reference 

 to the varieties which have been created by 

 man since he has had it under cultivation. 

 The value of the original paper was such that 

 the Department of Agriculture has done wisely 

 in determining to bring out this considerably 

 enlarged and improved edition as one of the 

 publications of the Office of Experiment Sta- 

 tions (Bulletin No. 57). It is an attempt to 

 treat in a scientific manner the whole problem 

 of the varieties into which the originally single 

 species has developed under man's selection. 

 It is thus a contribution to our knowledge of 

 the evolution of a species under cultivation. 



The paper opens with a technical description 

 of the Family Oramineae, the tribe Maydeae and 

 the genus Zea, and then follow descriptions of 

 'the one recognized species,' Zea mays L. , and 

 the 'species groups.' In discussing the vari- 

 ations in the species the author says : ' ' The 

 species Zea mays includes exceedingly divergent 

 forms. The height of the plant in varieties 

 and localities has been reported from 18 inches 

 for the Golden Tom Thumb pop to 30 feet or 

 more for varieties in the West Indies, and 

 single stalks in Tennessee at 22J feet. I have 



seen ears 1 inch long in the pop class and 16 

 inches long in the dent class. The rows in 

 varieties may vary from 8 to 24 or more, and 

 in individual ears are reported from 4 to 48. 

 A hundred kernels of Miniature pop weighed 

 46 grains, of Cuzco soft 1,531 grains. In some 

 varieties the ears are long and slender ; in 

 others, short and thick ; in the Bear Foot pop, 

 flat. Some varieties have flat kernels ; other 

 varieties have spheroidal kernels ; yet others, 

 conical kernels. The summits of the kernels 

 may be flat, rounded, pointed or indented. 

 These kernels, usually upright on the cob, may 

 be sloping or imbricated, firm or loose, usually 

 sessile, yet sometimes stalked. In structure 

 some are corneous throughout ; others are 

 partly corneous and partly farinaceous, others 

 entirely farinaceous. * * « The season also 

 varies. A variety that ripens in one month is 

 mentioned from Paraguay, and seven months 

 are said to be required in some southern coun- 

 tries. * * * In one group of corn each kernel 

 is surrounded by a husk and the ear thus formed 

 is itself enveloped in husks. In all our field 

 and garden corns, however, the seed is naked 

 on the cob." 



With all these variations before him the 

 author finds little difficulty in dividing the 

 ' polymorphic species Zea mays ' into a number 

 of groups, "which, on account of their well- 

 defined and persistent characters, may be con- 

 sidered as presenting specific nomenclature." 

 Accordingly, the author proposes six ' species 

 groups,' each having the value of species in 

 process of formation (if we understand the 

 author aright). These species of a lower order 

 are as follows : 



1. Zea tunicata, the pod corns, in which each 

 kernel is enclosed in a pod or husks. This is 

 thought by some to be the type of the primitive 

 maize, but Dr. Sturtevant very shrewdly sug- 

 gests that "a more complete study, with more 

 ample material, may possibly bring this group 

 under the classification of abnormalities, the 

 pod being but a proliferous condition." 



2. Zea everta, the pop corns, in which the 

 excessive proportion of corneous endosperm 

 and the small size of the kernels and ears are 

 characteristic. Twenty-five varieties are recog- 

 nized. 



