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SCHOOL AND HOME GARDENING 



only slightly towards the tip. If the tapered portion is too' 

 long, there will be many small kernels at that end, the effect 

 being to reduce yield and form nubbins in the next generation. 

 3. (a) Purity of com is indicated by uniformity in shape 

 and color. Variation in color indicates impurity, which may 



mean wide variation in 

 other respects in the next 

 crop. 



(6) Yellow corn 

 should have red cobs. 

 White corn should always 

 hav« white cobs, except in 

 a few varieties of so-caUed 

 white corn which may have 

 pink or red cobs. " White 

 Capped Yellow Dent," for 

 example, may be called 

 white corn, and some 

 strains of it have pink 

 cobs. 



4. Vitality is one of the 

 most important features 

 considered in selecting all 

 seed com. The kernels 

 should fit each other closely from all sides. Looseness indicates 

 lack of maturity. When kernels are shelled, the chaff should 

 remain on the cob and not cling to the kernels. The outer tip 

 coat should cling to the kernels and not remain on the cob. 

 When black tips are found on the kernels, low vitality is indi- 

 cated. Shrunken, blistered or starchy crowns are bad indica- 

 tions. The broad, wedge-shaped kernels give room for large 

 germs. The size of the germ may be determined by surface 

 view of the kernel, and by making sections lengthwise and 

 crosswise. 



5. Th6 tips of the ears should be well covered with corn 



Fia. 118. — In preparing corn for an ex- 

 hibit careful selection is important. (Agri- 

 culture and Life.) 



