VARIETIES AXD BREEDS 289 



In spite of the lack of crowding, or possibly on account of CHAP, 

 it, there is a great tendency to irregularity in the rows. The 

 frequent occurrence of an extra grain out of place (see Fig. 97), 

 forming an irregular star, suggests the possibility that a larger 

 number of rows is more normal. 



The extensive cultivation of Hickory King- has led to the 

 accidental production of innumerable crosses, most of which 

 appear to be useless, and none of which are definitely fixed. 

 Of these Ladysmitli Hickory (tig- 97) is a promising type, 

 characterized by the length of ear ; it was found by the writer 

 among some exhibits at the Ladysmith Show in 191 2. Other 

 probable crosses with Hickory King are referred to under the 

 types which they more nearly represent. 



240. Hickory Horsetooth, or 12-row Hickory. — Fig. 98. 

 Class : medium late white dent ; length of ear, 9 inches on the 

 High-veld to io-J at lower altitudes; circumference of ear at 

 2 inches from butt, 6| to j\ inches, from tip, 6 to 6\ inches ; 

 rows, 1 2 ; grain, deep wedge-shaped, broad crease-dented, 

 smooth to roughish. Grown in the United States, both sepa- 

 rately and in mixed stands of Hickory, and sometimes known 

 as Texas Hickory. 



At the Botanical Experiment Station, Pretoria, the writer 

 isolated this type as likely to prove more productive than 

 Hickory King owing to the greater depth and better shape of 

 the grains, which allow greater yield of grain to the same 

 size of ear. This type was subsequently propagated at the 

 Government Experiment Farm, Potchefstroom ; also by Mr. 

 McLaren at Vereeniging, and by other Transvaal farmers. 

 The writer has started selections of individual strains of this 

 breed on several farms in the Transvaal and Natal ; the yield 

 is proving better than that of Hickory King. There is a ten- 

 dency for the length of ear to fall to 8^ inches, when close selec- 

 tion for well-covered tips is practised at expense of length, 

 with consequent reduction of yield, and this should be over- 

 come by selection. 



Hickory Horsetooth varies in time of maturity, according to 

 the character of the particular cross from which it has been 

 segregated, and the part of the country in which it has been 

 acclimatized. The strain grown at Potchefstroom has proved 

 to be a late sort (i.e. later than Hickory King, and about the 



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