VARIETIES AND BREEDS 315 



The Transvaal Department of Agriculture introduced and CHAP, 

 tested a number of the improved American and other sorts, VIL 

 some of which have been discarded as unsatisfactory, while 

 others having proved superior to the older sorts already 

 grown, have been widely distributed, and are now mixed with 

 the old types. Among the best of these are New England 

 %-row (y) s.nd Rural Thoroughbred (w). Wills Gehu (y) and 

 North Dakota (w), introduced in 1909, matured in eighty- 

 seven days at the Botanical Experiment Station, Pretoria, and 

 gave a very fair yield for such a short season ; a fresh con- 

 signment of seed was obtained and widely distributed among 

 farmers for the season of 191 0-1 t. 



The early-maturing flints of South Europe, such as Cin- 

 quantino, Odessa, and Bessarabia, while maturing quickly (some- 

 times in forty to fifty days) give such poor yields as to be 

 unsuited to the broad type of agriculture necessarily in vogue 

 in a large part of South Africa. They seem better suited to 

 the small farm areas of the south of Europe. Another draw- 

 back is their habit of bearing ears low clown on the stem, 

 which renders them particularly liable to injury by vermin and 

 to damage by torrential summer rains. These breeds might 

 be useful to plant late, where the regular crop has been 

 destroyed by hail or locusts ; but the difficulty would then be 

 to obtain a sufficient quantity of seed at the moment when it 

 is needed, as no one cares to grow for seed those breeds for 

 which there will only be a demand in a bad season. 



The following have also been tested : — 



Yellow Flints. — Compton Early, Canada Early (8-rowed), 

 Vilmorin Early, Vilmorin Early (long-eared), Henderson Large 

 Yellow, Ninety-day, Longfellow, Improved King Philip, Harris 

 Golden, Cinquantino, Odessa, La Plata, Argentina, and Shep- 

 pard Yellow Flint. 



Red Flints. — Indian Pearl ; the ears often carry white, red, 

 and blue grains mixed. 



White Flints. — Egyptian, Somali, and Western Beauty 

 have been tried and discarded. Burlington Hybrid is grown 

 to a very limited extent. 



260. Cango, white. — Class : medium white flint ; ears, 9 to 

 10 inches long ; 5| inches circumference at tip, 1 !-, inches diame- 

 ter ; slowly tapering; butt even; rows distinctly distichous 



