VARIETIES AND BREEDS 327 



necessary to produce for him the type of grain called for by the chap. 

 market. One of the first requirements is a large percentage VI1 ' 

 of endosperm in proportion to "bran" or "hull"; to secure 

 this we should aim to produce a thick (not necessarily broad), 

 long grain, instead of the very thin, flat type which is being 

 grown so much to-day. 



There is a large demand in Europe for a small, " round," 

 flint maize suitable for feeding poultry, pheasants, etc. This 

 commands from 6d. to Is. 6d. per muid more than ordinary 

 yellow flint maize. South African Cango and New England 

 S-roiL> are too large for this trade, and are being classed as 

 " Flats " instead of rounds by buyers for Europe. If South 

 African farmers can grow the smaller type of maize, it may 

 prove worth while as a catch-crop, provided the yield is satis- 

 factory. 



282. Silage Breeds. — In growing crops for silage, it is an 

 object to get as large a yield of forage as possible from an 

 acre of ground. For this purpose tall, leafy sorts which tend 

 to sucker freely are preferred. Useful sorts are "Red-cob En- 

 silage" " Indian Pearl',' and " Sweet Fodder-corn ". 



But it is difficult to obtain seed of breeds specially suited 

 to silage production, as they are not regularly grown for seed. 

 South African farmers do not care to grow their own seed of 

 special silage maize, because of the clanger of crossing with their 

 grain crops. Most farmers, therefore, prefer to grow for silage 

 the same sorts which are grown for grain, planting them closer 

 in order to get the requisite yield. In America we find that 

 it is mainly those States which are not grain producers which 

 grow special sorts for silage; in the "Corn-belt" the ordinary 

 grain sorts are used, but dents are always preferred to flints 

 because of the greater yield. 



There is a tendency to use as silage-crops, on the High- 

 veld of South Africa, breeds which are grown as grain crops 

 only at lower altitudes, such as Natal White Horsetooth and 

 Yellow Horsetooth. The reason is that their season of growth 

 being longer than the upland sorts, they continue to grow 

 later in the season, and thus may produce a greater yield of 

 green-stuff per acre than those breeds grown mainly for grain. 

 But the percentage of ears to stalk and leaves is lower, and the 

 percentage of water to dry matter is apt to be higher, requiring 



