DESCRIPTIONS OF VARIETIES 



21 



editor of the American Agriculturist, mentions Asylum 

 in a short article on Indian corn varieties, and says, 

 " The great privilege of testing the merits of the variety 

 came because it was included among 15 tolerably well- 

 known sorts laid on my table by the J. M. Thorburn 

 Co." For 40 years after its introduction this variety 

 remained a leading sort. In 1898 F. Wm. Rane of 

 New Hampshire selected Asylum, Hances Early and 

 Squantum from a test of 41 varieties as those having 

 extra sweetness. During this period there were many 

 selections introduced and many new sorts named that 

 differed but little from the general type represented by 

 Asylum. 



Plant moderately tall, 6-7 feet; stalks heavy, with intemodes 

 long: leaves long and broad. Tassels long, lateral spikelets many, 

 drooping, crowded. Tillers few. Ears borne rather high, 30-35 

 inches from the ground. Husked ear moderately long and moder- 

 ately plump, 8-9 x l?4-2 inches, moderately tapering; base com- 

 pressed, tip abruptly conical to rounded; rows 12, moderately 

 straight and regular, not crowded around the cob, furrows deep 

 and narrow. Kernels at milk stage white; at dry stage whitish 

 amber, moderately large (121 seeds per oz.\ about as long as broad, 

 triangular, blunt at the base; crown rounded to nearly semi-circular: 

 surface abundantly wrinkled; set rather loosely on cob. 

 Avon Evergreen. Refs. 129, 175. 



This variety was named and introduced by D. M. 

 Ferry 8b Co. of Detroit in 1913 and is of their own breed- 

 ing, being a cross between Stowell's Evergreen and Late 

 Mammoth. From the year of its introduction until 1922 

 it was featured by Ferry and also by W. E. Dallwig of 

 Milwaukee as superior to Stowell's. The ear was cylin- 

 drical, about 9 inches long with 14 to 16 rows. As com- 

 pared to Stowell's it was perhaps a trifle earlier with 

 longer ear and thicker kernel. 

 Banana Cream. Refs. 147, 553, 555. 



Seed of the variety Banana Cream was obtained by 

 Oscar H. Will from a Mr. Harris, gardener of the H. Hollis 

 Hunnewell estate at Wellesley, Massachusetts. As grown 

 in North Dakota it was a rather late variety but was far 

 better than others then grown and was, accordingly, 

 introduced in 1897. Mr. George Will, who has watched 

 its progress for 35 years, says, " It has undoubtedly 

 changed considerably in earliness from being grown here 

 in North Dakota for the past 35 years or more, but in 

 general is about the same." 



Eighty-six days were required for ears to reach 

 edible maturity at Geneva. This was 2 days later than 

 Kendel's Early Giant and 2 days earlier than Howling 

 Mob. The plants are 1-1 l ■> feet taller than those of 

 Howling Mob and decidedly more inclined to tiller, 

 giving the plants a much more bushy appearance. The 

 ears are 1-2 inches shorter, more slender, and dis- 

 tinctly more tapering, whereas the kernels are longer 

 and thinner. It is one of the lesser known sorts and is 

 very largely confined to the Northern Plains area where 

 it has been reputed to remain in the edible state longer 

 than most varieties. It produced very attractive ears at 

 Geneva with kernels very uniformly arranged, thereby 

 suggesting its usefulness in sweet corn breeding work. 



Plant medium tall, 5J^-5H teet; stalks moderately slender 

 and straight; nodes 8-9, prominent, exposed; internodes occasionally 

 streaked with red on exposed portions. Brace roots present, 



slender and not very useful. Tillers many, giving plant a very 

 bushy appearance, equal in height to central stalk. Leaves short 

 arid moderately narrow, 23-25 x 3-3 'j inches, midrib very broad 

 and prominent, sheath equal to and shorter than internode. Tassel 

 medium long and slender, 15-18 inches; terminal spike erect, 

 lateral spikelets nearly horizontal, moderately few, short, scattered 

 and occasionally branched at the base; bracts dark green, rather 

 heavily striped with dark red; anthers reddish bronze (terra cotta 

 and van dyke red); 60-62 days to anthesis. 



Ears borne at 3rd and 4th nodes, one and occasionally two 

 ears per stalk, one usually a nubbin; shank moderately short and 

 slender, 3—4 inches. Husk leaves many, long, heavy and much 

 darker than husks; husks short, rather light and tightly wrapped. 

 Husked ear medium long and moderately slender, 7-8 x 1 ' i 1 . 

 inches, decidedly tapering; base slightly enlarged and compressed, 

 tip long conical and exposed; rows 12-14, straight, regular, very 

 attractive, crowded around cob. 



Kernels at milk stage white; at dry stage dull opalescent white, 

 small, narrow, much longer than wide, noticeably thin, 1.0 x .81 x 

 .31 cm. (172 seeds per oz.l; distinctly triangular in shape: crown 

 slightly rounded; surface very rough, rather coarsely and abundantly 

 wrinkled, often deeply creased in parts; set moderately tight on 

 cob. 



Baltimore Market. Refs. 370, 403, 533. 



Price 8s Drinkard describe this variety as a good mid- 

 season corn of the coarse-grained sort. It was introduced 

 in 1907 by Moore and Simon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 

 as the result of a cross between Southern Tuscarora and 

 Roslyn Hybrid. This would account for its coarse- 

 ness and poor quality. The vigorous growth of the 

 plant and productive bearing habit made the variety 

 a great favorite with Baltimore growers. 



Bearsfoot. Refs. 22, 55, 75, 152, 181, 423, 435, 464, 

 507, 515, 533. Syns. Concord Bears-Foot, Rhode 

 Island, Rhode Island Bearsfoot, Washington Bears- 

 foot, " Washington," " Washington Market." 

 Illus. 20. 

 A favorite in the Boston market this was known 

 for many years as Concord Bears-Foot. The name 

 Washington or Washington Market sometimes appeared 

 as a synonym of Bearsfoot but this name was not 

 correctly used since it appeared more often in connec- 

 tion with Egyptian. The first listing of Bearsfoot 

 was in the 1906 catalog of W. W. Rawson 8b Co., 

 Boston. It was also listed by Joseph Breck 8b Co. 

 and by W. E. Barrett Co., Providence, Rhode Island. 

 The latter company offered the variety in 1933. 



It was a popular sort in New England, somewhat 

 on the order of Zig Zag Evergreen, with a smaller ear and 

 less tendency to zig zag; the ear is broad or bear-footed 

 on the end, and filled with fairly narrow deep grains of 

 good quality. 



Belle Isle. Ref. 286. Syn. New Belle Isle. 



This variety is described in the catalog of S. M. Isbell 

 8b Co., Jackson, Michigan, as earlier than Peep O'Day 

 but with larger ears produced higher up on the stalk. 

 Isbell listed the variety in 1925 for the last time. 



Best of All. Refs. 74, 116, 207, 208, 241, 278, 368, 404, 

 405, 454, 515, 533, 573. Syns. Silver Queen, 

 White Bantam. Illus. 21. 

 This sweet corn has been known as Buckbee's 



Best of All since its introduction in 1894 by H. W. 



