MAIZE 



CHAP. 



IV. 



87. Number of Grains per Ear. — The number of grains 

 per ear varies to some extent with soil, seasonal rainfall, etc., 

 but apart from this, there appears to be a definite relation be- 

 tween the number of grains and the breed. Hickory King 

 in the Transvaal ranges from about 350 to 400; Iowa Silver- 

 mine runs from 800 to 1,100. Burton (1) reports a case in 



Fig. 58. — Left-hand twist of rows. 



Aliwal North Division, Cape Colony, S. Africa, of an ear 

 bearing 2,828 grains ; this was one of eight ears from the same 

 plant, but the name of the breed was not stated. 



88. Proportion of Grain to Ear} — The proportion of grain 

 to ear is exceedingly variable, not alone as between breeds 

 and under different conditions of growth, but also in the same 



1 i.e. percentage by weight of grain and cob. 



