84 



MAIZE 



chap. Maize plants poor in leaf-surface, through lack of food or 

 water, or from insect-injury, damage by hail, or undue short- 

 ness of growing season, cannot manufacture and store as much 

 starch, and therefore fail to develop as much weight of grain 

 as those with a proper proportion of leaf. It does not neces- 

 sarily follow, however, that the larger the leaf-surface the 



Fig. 28. — Tassel of Odessa maize. 



greater the amount of seed produced. Beyond a certain point 

 (which perhaps varies in different varieties or breeds), the 

 amount of seed produced appears to decrease in inverse ratio 

 to the increase in leaf-surface. 



After the food-materials are used up, the surplus water in 

 which they were dissolved and carried is transpired or given 



