LEAMING 



421 



always be large and when removed leave a somewhat open butt. The 

 length of ear varies from 9 to 10^ inches, even the northern-grown 

 Leaming keeping its length. The cob is red, although a pale color 

 sometimes appears. Breeders today are trying to eliminate this. 



~^ii;i\ jA'^OV^ V'L'J^V. VitWWWva UaUaft i^auW. 



5v\v!l^ V.Wvfi. 



JQQ 



.\<i 



v>u UjoaV V\^\\s,\{o, D^.-c viu 



fii' 



KERNELS OP DIFFERENT VARIETIES. 



Kernel. A Leaming kernel is of medium depth, quite thick, and 

 the edges touch each other at the tip, but part near the crovra. The 

 kernel is less of a parallelogram than the Boone County White, and 

 consequently has less shoulder at the tip. The germ is very broad and 

 sometimes covers the face of the kernel almost as much as the Reid. 

 Being horny almost to the crown the kernels give the surface a rich, 

 almost orange yellow appearance. The original type was a dimple 

 dent, but breeders today have evolved a heavy crease with a deeper 

 kernel. The cob is often large and the shelling percentage is seldom 

 over 88 per cent. 



Adaptability. Being the first corn to be systematically improved 

 in the United States, the Leaming has been carried to all parts of the 

 corn belt. The shape of the ear and blockiness of the kernels mark 

 many mongrel types to-day. In fact, the one fault of this corn is its 

 irregularity of rows and lack of uniformity in the shape of the kernels. 

 From the beginning, the breeders have had to watch this character, 

 and among the best of them it appears to-day. Not being particular 

 as to soil and having originally been selected for early maturity, it is 

 found among the most northern of dent varieties. 



CONTEMPORARY BREEDERS. In 1885, E. E. Chester, of 

 Champaign, Illinois, secured seed from J. S. Leaming. In continuing 

 the type, Mr. Chester has selected ears which ripen in from 100 to 120 



