CHAPTER XIII 



THE INDIAN CORN 



179. The Stem. — The corn, like the bean, is an angio- 

 spcrm ; but it differs from the bean, as we shall see, in several 

 rather important respects. The up- 

 right stem is grooved on one side ; at 

 each joint of the stem the position of 

 the groove changes from one side of 

 the stem to the opposite side. The 

 stem in most varieties of com imder 

 ordinary conditions forms no branches 

 except the special ones that bear 

 flowers. Like the stems of the cu- 

 cumber and the bean, it grows in 

 length by means of a terminal bud. 

 But its growth ceases when the 

 " tassel " is formed at the top ; so 

 that the corn stem has a more 

 definite limit of length than has the 

 bean stem. The length of the stem 

 is very different, however, in different 

 varieties of com, ranging, so it is 

 said, from eighteen inches to thirty 

 feet or more. The flowers and fruit 

 are formed during the same year in 

 which the seed germinates. The com, 

 therefore, like the bean, is an annual. 

 A cross section through the com 

 stem (Fig. 96) looks very different 

 156 



Fig. 95. — Indian corn 

 plants. 



