276 MAIZE 



CHAP, form of maize would almost certainly have had its grains pro- 

 ■ tected in this way. Sturtevant (2) points out that podded 

 corn is less conspicuous than the naked kernels of cultivated 

 varieties, and is looser on the cob, yet firmly attached. This 

 favours both protection from, and distribution by, birds. As 

 insect and bird depredation furnish the strongest barrier to the 

 growing of wild forms of maize, these protective characters 

 assume importance in the argument that pod corn is an ab- 

 original form. The property of floating upon water, which 

 the podded kernels possess in strong degree, would also facili- 

 tate distribution in a state of nature, as also the moisture con- 

 tained within the pod. But pod maize does not appear to 

 have been found in the ancient cemeteries of Peru. 



Pod maize is said to be cultivated by the Guaycurus Indians 

 of Uruguay and Paraguay ; elsewhere only as a curiosity, 

 though it is occasionally found in maize fields throughout the 

 United States, in Brazil, and South Africa. 



229. Pop-corn {Zea Mays var. prcecox Bonaf). Coyote corn ; 

 German : friiher swerg-maiz. — Characterized by the exception- 

 ally large proportion of corneous endosperm (in the best breeds 

 it comprises the whole endosperm) and the small size of the 

 grains and ear. The grain is sharply pointed in some breeds. 



The breeds of this variety are said to be more subject to 

 sports and monstrous growths than those of any other, and 

 the tendency to bear many ears to the stalk is highly de- 

 veloped. The grain has strong vegetative power, and possesses 

 the property of germination, after drying, to a great degree 

 [Sturtevant, 2). It has the property of "popping," which 

 means the complete eversion, or turning inside-out, of the 

 endosperm, through the explosion of the contained moisture 

 and the swelling of the starch on the application of heat. The 

 presence of a small amount of starchy endosperm does not 

 greatly interfere with the property of popping, but when there 

 is a large amount of starchy endosperm, the corn does not 

 pop well, for only the corneous portion explodes, leaving the 

 starchy portion unchanged. 



Pop maize has been much cultivated by native tribes both 

 in North and South America, and has been found illustrated 

 in sculpture, or petrified, among Peruvian ruins {Sturtevant, 2). 

 It is a favourite sweetmeat with Americans. 



