BOONE COUNTY WHITE 



429 



Ear. The ear of this 

 variety of white corn is 

 longer in proportion to 

 its circumference than 

 is the Silver Mine. The 

 shape is quite cylindri- 

 cal, with a slow taper 

 the entire length of the 

 ear. Both butt and tip are cut off squarely. The shank is very 

 large and when broken off leaves a flat, rather open butt, around 

 which the kernels do not fill in. The cob is rather open and porous 

 and usually quite heavy. The length of ear varies between 9 and 10^ 

 inches. 



BOONE COUNTY WHITE, 



Kernel. The Boone County corn is a pearly, clear white, due to 

 the fact that the crown starch is such a very thin layer that the horny 

 endosperm below shows on the surface of the ear. The kernels are me- 

 dium to shallow in depth, but because there is no excess of dent the 

 percentage of corn to cob is surprising though not high. The rows 

 have some space at the crown due to the fact that the sides touch 

 all the way down to the tips. That is, the kernel is almost a perfect 

 oblong with little narrowing at the tip. The thickness of the kernel 

 is greater than any other of the principal varieties. The germ extends 

 almost to the crown, but is not so wide at the tip as in the Reid or 

 Silver Mine. In other words, the horny endosperm lies prominently 

 on each side of the germ, forming near the attachment at the cob a 

 pronounced shoulder. The dent in earlier years was sometimes so 

 smooth as to resemble the dimple. It later became the crease, and 

 some breeders have deepened the kernel and shortened the ear, until 

 a slight pinch is noticed. Although bred pure, unless the care is taken 

 in selecting seed each year, there is a tendency for the ears to become 

 shallow and flinty over the tip. Often the furrows become too deep 

 also. 



Adaptability. Boone County White makes demands on the 

 soil which can not be supplied except in alluvial districts. Being a 

 medium to late maturing corn, requiring a season of 120 to 125 days, 

 it will never move northward very far. At present, it is found prin- 

 cipally in the southern half of Indiana and Illinois, and in a few 

 counties near the south line of Iowa. Missouri is a Boone County 

 corn state. 



