VARIETIES AND BREEDS 277 



Golden pop and Rice pop have been introduced into South CHAP. 

 Africa, but at present scarcely any pop-corn is grown there. • 



A form of this variety was reported under the name of 

 Coyote corn as having been found growing "wild" in Mexico, 

 and was named Zea canina by Dr. Sereno Watson ; subsequent 

 investigations have shown, however, that it was a cross between 

 pop-corn and some other variety, and there is no evidence that 

 it was not an escape from cultivation. 



230. Flint MaizeiZea Maysvar. indurata (Sturt.) Bailey). — 

 Recognized by the corneous (horny) endosperm completely 

 enclosing the starchy endosperm ; the latter does not reach 

 the apex as it does in the var. indentata, a fact which may be 

 demonstrated in a split grain ; the horny endosperm varies in 

 thickness in different breeds. 



Most, if not all, of the earliest-maturing commercial breeds 

 belong to the flint variety; in many places where they are 

 grown, e.g. in Southern Europe, the growing-season is so short 

 (forty to fifty days) that only a very small amount of grain can 

 be produced and, as a rule, the flint breeds are relatively light 

 yielders. 



Flint maize is the type usually grown by native tribes, 

 e.g. in South Africa, Egypt, Somaliland, Mexico, Honduras, 

 Trinidad, Paraguay, and Brazil. Also ninety per cent of the 

 Argentine crop, and practically all of that of South Europe, is 

 flint maize. The greater demand for dent maize has relegated 

 the flint breeds to a subsidiary place, mainly as catch-crops 

 at the end of the season or for use in parts of the world where 

 the growing-season is too short for dent breeds. Flint maize 

 is grown in Canada as far north as 54° north latitude. 



The grains of some breeds of flint maize, being smaller than 

 those of the dents, are preferred in the European markets for 

 feeding poultry, game, and stock, and command a slightly 

 higher price than the dents. 



The smaller-grained flint breeds grown commercially are 

 known to the trade as " round " maize. 



As flint grain is much harder than dent, it is less easily 

 injured by weevil and grain-moth. It takes longer to dry 

 out than dent, but when once dry, does not re-absorb moisture 

 so easily, and is therefore better suited to a long sea voyage. 



231. Dent Maize {Zea Mays var. indentata (Sturt.) Bailey). 



