326 THE BOOK OF CORN 



VARIETIES OF SWEET CORN 



There are something like eighty varieties of sweet 

 corn known to the American seed trade. Sturtevant in 

 1899 listed sixty-three varieties and in 1889 American 

 seedsmen cataloged seventy-six varieties. Dr Sturte- 

 vant has divided sweet corn into three groups, accord- 

 ing to the shape of the kernel. Seedsmen and growers 

 generally classify it according to its period of ripening, 

 there being the extra early, early or intermediate, gen- 

 eral or main crop, and late. The illustrations (see 

 Fig 95) from photographs of seed ears show some 

 of the more popular varieties. The Cory is one 

 of the most popular of the extra early varieties. It is 

 eight-rowed, with good sized ears, large grains, but 

 not of high quality, earliness being its great merit. 

 Metropolitan, Marblehead and Minnesota are in this 

 class, and like the early and extra early corns, the ears 

 are of only medium size and the stalk from four to six 

 feet tall. Perry Hybrid is a favorite market sort be- 

 cause of the large size of ear and stalk. This, with 

 Crosby and Moore Concord, matures after Minnesota. 

 The Early Adams and Extra Early Adams are not 

 properly speaking sweet or sugar corns, but are grown 

 extensively by market gardeners for early use. 



For the general crop, Stowell Evergreen is pre- 

 eminently the leader. The ears are of large size, ker- 

 nels large and regular, and of fine quality. It pro- 

 duces abundantly, makes a large growth of stalk and 

 has the merit of remaining green and in good condition 

 for a long time. The late sorts, which are of large 

 growth, are generally of superior quality. The Black 

 Mexican, distinguished by the dark, almost black color 

 of the grain or kernels, is very sweet in flavor. The 

 Ne Plus Ultra ,or Shoe Peg produces ears of only 

 medium size with kernels long and irregularly set. 



