TESTS OF CORN VARIETIES ON THE GREAT PLAINS. 7 



FLINT VARIETIES. 



In most of this territory the flint corns are less popular and less 

 extensively grown than the dent corns. Their objectionable features 

 are the hardness of the grain when fully mature and the difficulty of 

 husking. The flint corns are regarded as being very hardy and under 

 adverse conditions frequently outyield dent corns. The flint corns 

 sucker profusely and respond to favorable conditions by producing 

 ears on suckers and by producing more than one ear to the stalk. 



If fed before becoming fully mature and under conditions where it 

 is possible to harvest the crop with live stock, some of the flint corns 

 may exceed dent varieties in profitable production. 



White Australian. — Kernel color dull white; very hard; ears smooth and with 10 to 14 

 rows of kernels. Seed secured from eastern Colorado. Of the flint varieties this 

 corn is that most generally grown in this territory. It will mature in nearly all 

 localities. In all tests in which it has been included it has compared well in 

 yield with the best flint and dent varieties. Typical ears are shown in figure 4. 



Cassia County Flint. — Similar to White Australian. The two varieties are probably 

 of the same origin. Seed secured from southern Idaho. 



Geha Flint. — Kernels light yellow, small, and very hard; cob white; ears small' and 

 smooth; stalks small and ears borne very close to ground. Seed secured from 

 central North Dakota. This corn is one of the very earliest grown in the United 

 States and will safely mature in any part of this territory. 



Amber Flint. — Kernel color amber; ears medium size. Seed secured from eastern 

 South Dakota. Will mature in the southeastern part of this territory. 



SOFT OR FLOUR VARIETIES. 



The soft or so-called flour or squaw corns are grown to a somewhat 

 less extent than the flints in this territory. In appearance, character 

 of plants, and habits of growth they are very similar to the flint 

 corns. As the name implies, they are soft in texture. The mature 

 corn is more easily eaten by live stock than flint corn, but it is prob- 

 ably somewhat inferior in feeding value. 



Between the true flint and flour types there are all gradations in 

 texture. 



Mitchell HI m- Flour. — Kernels blue, with some white mixture; has a slight flintiness; 

 cob white; small stalks with ears close to ground. Seed secured from extreme 

 west-central Nebraska. Will mature in any part of this territory. 



Dakota Hi d <S7/ //«//;. — ( 'olor dark red : has a slight flintiness; cobs white. Seed secured 

 from eastern South Dakota. This corn matures in the southern half of this terri- 

 tory and has given fair yields where tried. 



TIME REQUIRED FOR MATURITY. 



The time required for any variety of corn to reach maturity 

 depends largely upon the conditions of temperature, sunshine, and 

 moisture of the locality where; grown. The performance of a variety 

 in one locality can not, therefore, be taken as an indication, except in 

 a general way, of the time required by that variety to mature in 

 other localities where conditions of growth are different. Under like 



