CORN 



163 



SHAPE or KERNELS 



{1) An ear most of whose kernels are keystone-shaped; 

 that is, slightly wider at the crown than at the base. They 

 should be of only medium 

 depth and average about six 

 to the inch in the row. This 

 ear, as well as all others re- 

 quired in this exercise, must 

 be sound and mature and 

 show vitality ; and if pos- 

 sible, or as nearly as possible, it should possess all the 

 desirable characteristics brought out in Exercise 43. 



(1) An ear whose kernels are very shallow and nearly 

 square, that is, practically as wide at the base as at the 

 crown ; also one whose kernels are sharp and pointed ; 

 another, whose kernels are very deep but about equally 

 wide at base and crown ; and still another with " shoepeg " 



Fig 



Kernels of keystone 

 shai>c. 



Square. Pointed. Rectangular, Shoepeg. Hound. 



Fig. 68. — Kernels of undesirable shapes. 



kernels, that is, kernels which are unusually narrow and 

 very deep. 



As will be seen by the illustrations, kernels of keystone 

 shape fit one against the other wthout unnecessary loss 

 of space between them or between the rows at either top 

 or bottom. This means that the shelling percentage is 

 high. 



The depth of the kernel, like the size of the ear, depends 

 as a rule upon the length of the growing season. The 

 shorter the growing season, the shallower the kernels. 



