uS MAIZE 



CHAP. American growers lay much stress on high percentage 



of grain to ear, because a great deal of maize is there sold on 

 the cob, and buyers prefer strains which, when shelled, will 

 bag up well. The growers admit, however, that the propor- 

 tion of grain to cob is of less importance than the actual weight 

 of grain per ear . In South Africa, where maize is sold, entirely, 

 off the cob, the question of percentage does not appear to be 

 of great importance. 



89. Form for Describing the Ear. — The following is a useful 

 form for recording the characters of typical ears in order to 

 determine from year to year whether any change is taking place 

 or whether they are remaining true to type. Owing to the 

 difficulty of keeping specimen ears for any length of time, a 

 written record is desirable. For definition of terms, see 

 preceding paragraphs under each head. 



This form can also be used to advantage by students in 

 agriculture. In this case each student should have two or 

 more ears of each of the five varieties of maize, or of five 

 different breeds of the same variety. Ten ears of a given 

 variety or breed are none too many for a thorough study. 

 Ears of other varieties or breeds, showing the characters here 

 mentioned, should be shown for the guidance of students. 



The character present ma}' be marked by a J across the 

 word. 



Name : Variety Breed. . .' 



Dateof: (a) Record (b) Sowing (c) Harvest 



(«) Colour of grain : white; yellow; golden; red; purple; blue; or black. 



(b) Colour of cob: white; light red; deep red. 



(c) Surface: smooth; medium; rough; very rough. 



((/) Sulci: absent; apparent; narrow; distinct; very distinct, 

 (c) Pairs of rows : distichous ; not distichous. 



(f) Number of rows: at J length from butt ; from tip 



(g) Direction of rows : straight ; right twist ; left twist ; irregular. 

 (//) Grains: very loose ; loose; firm. 



(i) Grains : regular ; mosaic-like ; uneven. 



(/) Grains: upright; sloping; imbricated. 



(k) Ear: cylindrical; cylindraceous ; slowly tapering ; tap.-ring. 



(/)Butt: even; shallow rounded; moderately rounded ; deeply rounded. 



(m)Butt: depressed; compressed; depressed-rounded; depressed-com- 

 pressed; enlarged; expanded; open. 



(») Tip: sides of cob exposed ; end exposed ; end covered ; capped. 



(o) Juncture of shank with ear : large; medium; small. 



(/>) Extreme length of ear ; maximum inches; minimum inches; 



average of ten inches. 



(1/) Circumference of ear at 2 inches from butt: maximum inches; 



minimum inches ; average of ten inches. 



