46 



FIELD CROP PRODUCTION 



this respect of an ear of fiint corn. In the rice corn the 

 ears are incUned to be tapering with the kernels in irregular 

 rows, while in the pearl corn the ears are more often cylin- 

 drical and the kernels are in straight rows. There are 

 early, medium and late varieties of both the rice and pearl 

 corn. One variety, called Tom Thumb, because of its 

 diminutive proportion, is frequently grown 

 as a curiosity. A perfectly formed ear 

 measuring 2 inches in length would indeed, 

 when compared with a good ear of dent 

 corn, meet the demands of the curious. 

 Pop corn can be grown anywhere that dent 

 or flint corn can be grown. Farmers 

 usually supply their own needs by grow- 

 ing a small patch with the garden truck. 

 The production to supply the numerous 

 pop corn wagons and confectionery stores 

 has been largely confined to one county 

 each in Iowa and Nebraska. In these 

 sections soil and climate are particularly 

 well suited to its gro^vth, and here it has 

 become an important crop, grown and 

 harvested by farmers who have become 

 specialists in its production. So great is the 

 industry in these sections that hundreds of car loads are 

 sent out from shipping points each season. One bushel 

 of ears when husked weighs about 38 pounds. When 

 cured for one season, at which time it is put on the market, 

 35 pounds is the standard weight per bushel of ears. 

 Fifty or sixty bushels of ears per acre is considered a very 

 good yield. 



37- Soft corn. — One has only to examine a longitu- 

 dinal section of a kernel of this type to learn why it has 



Fig. 10. — Rice 

 pop corn. 



