DESCRIPTIONS OF VARIETIES 



17 



GLOSSARY OF TERMS 

 Anthesis The period of full development of the floral organs, 



here used specifically to refer to the time when the 



staminate flower is ready to shed pollen. 

 Beaked When the crown of the kernel is exceedingly rough 



and jagged so that at one point a projection is 



extended. 

 Broad oval. . . . When the side view of the kernel shows it to be 



definitely broader than long. 

 Butt The proximal portion of the ear; the end opposite 



the tip. 



Capped When the tip of an ear is completely filled. 



Color Anther colors are given in common color terms 



with the approximate Ridgeway term in parenthesis. 

 Complete With reference to the presence of an entire circle of 



whorl brace roots on one or more nodes. 



Compound. . . When the lateral spikelets of the tassel are abun- 

 dantly divided. 

 Compressed . . . When the rows of kernels at the butt end are com- 

 pact and without indication of furrows. 



Conical When the tip of an ear is distinctly cone-shaped. 



Converging . . . When the crown of the kernel assumes a triangular 



shape: not rounded. 

 Covered When the node is completely enclosed by the over- 

 lapping sheath. 

 Crease dented. When the crown of the kernel is marked with a 



deep, narrow angular depression. 

 Crowded When distinct pairs of kernel rows are not apparent; 



around cob are uniformly distributed about the cob; ear 



entirely without longitudinal furro%vs or depressions. 

 Crown The top or tip of the kernel opposite the point of 



attachment. 

 Cylindrical. ... A relative term used to indicate the resemblance in 



shape of a husked ear to a cylinder. 

 Dent corn Grain characterized by the presence of chit, with 



corneous matter on the two sides and starchy 



matter extending to the summit. By the drying 



and shrinkage of the starchy matter the summit 



of the kernel is drawn in or together and indented 



in various forms. 

 Double cross. . . A hybrid between two single crosses (A X B) X 



(C X D). 

 Drooping The position of a plant part when it bends towards 



the ground away from the erect axis. 

 Enlarged When the butt end of an ear is distinctly larger 



than the tip. 

 Erect The position of a plant part when it is perpendicular 



to the ground. 

 Expanded When the furrows at the base of the ear are much 



wider than at the tip. 

 Exposed When the tip of an ear shows an unfilled portion of 



the cob. 

 Feathery With reference to a very slender, frail, feather-like 



tassel. 

 Flint corn Grain characterized by the presence of corneous 



(flinty) material entirely surrounding the chit and 



starchy matter. 

 Furrows The space between two rows or two pairs of rows 



of kernels. 

 Horizontal ... The position of a plant part when it is at right 



angles to the erect axis. 

 Husk leaves. . . The distal portion of the outside husks, usually 



darker green in color. 

 Husks long .... When the husks extend well over the tip of the ear. 

 Husks short . . . When the husks scarcely extend over the tip of the 



ear. 

 Hybrid A general term used in plant breeding to designate 



a cross between two distinct varieties or two strains 



of the same variety. 



Inbred A strain which has been self-pollinated. This 



makes possible the isolation of homozygous (pure) 



lines or forms i strains ) which may be used as founda- 

 tion stocks for the production by hybridization of 



improved varieties of maize. 



Irregular When kernels are out of line with the rows. 



Lost When there are more rows of kernels at the base of 



the ear than at the tip. 



Margin The edge of the leaf. 



Nubbin A small, often poorly developed ear. 



Pairs distinct . . When a series of two rows of kernels do not fuse 



but each pair remains close together. 

 Pitted When the surface of the crown of the kernel is 



abundantly covered with very shallow, minute 



depressions. 

 Prominent A condition under which the sheath fails to cover 



node the node. 



Rectangular . . . When the shape of the kernel is similar to a 



rectangle. 

 Ridged With reference to a series of elevations, long in 



proportion to their width, present on any side of the 



dry kernels other than the crown surface. 

 Ring The annular band at the base of each bract, not 



present in all varieties. 

 Shank That portion of the ear that serves as a link between 



the cob and the plant; the ear stalk. 

 Simple When the lateral spikelets of a tassel are single 



and without sub-branches. 

 Single cross. ... A hybrid between two inbred strains A X B, an 



inbred X inbred. 

 Smooth When crown of the kernel is free from wrinkling or 



other irregularities. 

 Smooth dented. When the crown of the kernel is marked with a 



depression free from wrinkling. 

 Soft corn Grain characterized by the presence of chit and 



starchy matter, the corneous material being absent. 

 Sweet corn .... Grain characterized by the presence of chit and 



corneous matter, the latter translucent and wrinkled. 

 Tapering A term indicating a husked ear larger in diameter 



in the butt section than in the tip section. 

 Tip The distal portion of the ear; the point opposite 



the butt ; the apex. 

 Top cross A variety (commercial) crossed with one inbred, 



variety X inbred. 

 Triangular .... When the shape of the kernel is similar to a triangle. 

 Twisted When the rows of kernels spiral from the butt to 



the tip. 

 Wrinkled The presence of more or less coarse or finely divided 



corrugations on the surface of the crown of the 



kernel. 

 Zigzag With reference to the stalk; when the internodes 



bend alternately. 



THE WHITE-KERNELED VARIETIES OF SWEET CORN 



White-kerneled varieties of sweet corn represent 

 not only the largest group but also the sorts first estab- 

 lished and used as the basis for the many selections and 

 crosses which have followed. Starting in 1779 with the 

 name Papoon and Indian corn, during the next 50 years 

 the list by Salisbury included 4 in 1848, 16 varieties 

 described by Burr in 1863, and 33 by Sturtevant in 

 1884. For this study a total of 956 names of white 

 varieties was found. It has been possible to investi- 

 gate the great majority of these but after much research 

 only the meagerest of information has been forthcoming 

 for some of them. 



The list of varieties expanded rather rapidly; at 

 least to those growers who were the cultivators during 

 the period of 1848 to 1933 and of course most rapidly 



