220 FIELD NOTES IN SEED TIME. 



kernels, looks as if it had been stained in poke-berry 

 juice; the stalks and mid-ribs of the blades too 

 are veneered with a beautiful polished, maroon- 

 colored cuticle, and the sap is remarkable for its 

 sweetness. 



The brilliant hues of many varieties of corns 

 are quite curious. How often Nature is inclined 

 to paint them blue and purple, to streak them 

 with yellow and red, or double dye them with that 

 deep rich pigment that suggests a spike adorned 

 with garnets or rubies. This glowing beauty, 

 however, is accidental, and only skin deep, for if 

 the hull is removed, the light or yellowish farina- 

 ceous substance is seen as in the common kinds 

 that have transparent coverings. 



The rice, or squirrel tooth, has perhaps a greater 

 tendency to paint its kernels in lively colors than 

 all other kinds. A heap of husked ears on the 

 floor presents a striking and beautiful appearance. 

 It contains, also, more oil than other kinds, and on 

 this depends its famous popping qualities. Per- 

 haps this variety comes nearer the wild type, and 

 something like it may have been brought by the 

 Indian savages of Peru to Manco Capac and his 

 sister Mama Oello, the first of the Incas and the 

 children of the sun, who taught them to cultivate 



