32 



THE VEGETABLES OF NEW YORK 



Dwarf Early. Refs. 14, 22, 59, 74, 90, 91, 308, 414, 422, 



428, 439, 503, 507, 508. Syns. Early Dwarf 



Sugar, Early Sweet Dwarf, Extra Early Dwarf, 



Extra Early Dwarf Sugar. 



This was one of the names applied to the early 



dwarf corn that came originally from an Indian source. 



It might even have been the early Papoon corn or a 



selection from it. Salisbury in 1848 named a small 



Early Sweet which was sometimes called Eight -rowed 



Early. Descriptions of these varieties as well as of 



Tom Thumb and Boynton show the type to be small 



eared and early. To a grower who criticised its size 



the editor of the Rural New Yorker in 1884 replied, 



" But we shall probably never find the earliest varieties 



with the largest ears." 



Plant short, 3 1 j— 4 feet, stalks slender; ears borne close to the 

 ground; husked ear short and slender, 5-7 x 1 J 2 — 1 '' s inches, cyl- 

 indrical or nearly so, more or less curved; rows 8, somewhat curved, 

 regular. Kernels at milk stage white, small, shallow; at dry stage 

 amber white, slightly wider than long (108 seeds per oz.), ovate 

 in shape; crown rounded; surface wrinkled; set tightly on white cob. 



Since the name Dwarf Early, and the type it repre- 

 sents is one of the very oldest among all the sweet corns, 

 it is not out of the ordinary to find so many different 

 name variations which have been associated with it. 

 It is impossible to reconstruct the type as originally 

 used or the selection from this type as offered in the 

 earlier catalogs. A few of these old names have been 

 given as synonyms of Dwarf Early. Naturally there 

 are others about which we have been unable to collect 

 much information. The following names were used 

 previous to 1890, for slightly varying forms of Dwarf 

 Early: Bates's Extra Early, Brill's Early Dwarf Sugar, 

 Early White, Extra Early Sugar, Improved Extra 

 Early White, Sweet or Sugar, and Sweet Sugar. 



Earliest. Refs. 34, 117, 345, 346, 348. 



This name might be associated with many early 

 corns or given to strain selections of any one of several 

 promising sorts. Beckert's Seed Store, Pittsburgh, 

 Pennsylvania, offered Beckert's Earliest in 1923 and 

 in 1932 Beckert's Earliest Improved. These have 

 been in trials at Geneva and produced ears very similar 

 to other early white corns such as Alpha, Early Denver 

 or Early Fortune. The strain first introduced was 

 described as with ears 6 to 7 inches long with 8 to 10 

 rows of broad white kernels on a pinkish cob. Earliest 

 Improved as grown at Geneva had ears with white 

 cob and 10 to 12 rows of kernels. 



Earl} Vviator. Ref. 44. 



F. W. Bolgiano & Co. of Washington, D. C, 

 sponsored this in 1928. In trials at Geneva it appeared 

 to be a rather short eared early variety. It was last 

 listed in the catalog of 1931, and as far as it is known 

 has not been cataloged by any other company. 



Seventy-six days were required for this variety to 

 produce edible ears at Geneva. This was 1 day later 

 than Alpha, 6 days later than Early Market, and 4 

 days earlier than Whipple's Early. The plants are 

 slightly taller than Early Market with tassel slightly 

 longer, more slender and feathery. The ears are much 



the same as Early Market with tips not as rounded 

 and dry kernels showing more white and less amber. 

 Because of its similarity to the popular and meri- 

 torious variety Early Market, it was not grown to any 

 great extent. 



Early Boynton Sweet. Refs. 22, 90, 91, 137, 168, 422, 

 430, 508, 535. Syns. Boynton, Boynton Early. 

 This early dwarf corn was first listed by D. M. Ferry 

 85 Co. in 1877. It was apparently developed by a Mr. 

 Boynton who had grown the variety one or two years 

 previous to 1877. It was a white cob sweet corn, short 

 stalks without tillers; ears 8-rowed, small and rather 

 pointed. Early Boynton was similar to Dwarf Early 

 Sugar, Dolly Dutton, Tom Thumb and Early Min- 

 nesota, and was probably selected from one of those or 

 from the precursor of the group. 



Early Dakota. Refs. 335, 345, 554, 558. Syns. 

 Dakota, Early Improved Dakota. 



Early Dakota was a selection from Mammoth 

 White Cory and as such was offered by Oscar H. Will 

 & Co. until about 1920. At that time a new stock 

 which had proved to be an even more adequately 

 adapted early white sweet corn was used. This new 

 corn came from a rancher in Wyoming and had been 

 called " Diamond S " after the name of the ranch. 

 It had been grown there for some 15 years. Early 

 Dakota corn has been one of the most successful 

 varieties listed by Will since 1894 and is one of four 

 leading white varieties recommended for North Dakota 

 today. 



Eighty-two days were required for Early Dakota to 

 produce ears at Geneva. This was 2 days later than 

 Mammoth White Cory and in season with Early Ford- 

 hook. The plants are 1 } 2-2 feet tallei than those of 

 Mammoth White Cory, heavier and distinctly more 

 zigzag. The husked ears are about the same length 

 but somewhat more plump and average two more rows 

 of slightly narrower kernels. 



Plant medium tall, 5J£-6 feet; stalks medium thickness and 

 zigzag; nodes 8-9, exposed and prominent. Brace roots present, 

 slender, whorl nearly complete on one node and useful. Tillers 

 few to none, much shorter than central stalk. Tassel medium long 

 and rather coarse, 16-18 inches; terminal spike erect; lateral spikelets 

 horizontal, medium long, many present and moderately crowded; 

 bracts and anthers variable. 



Ears borne at 4th and 5th nodes, one and occasionally two per 

 stalk; medium long and moderately plump, 7-8 x 1 3 4~ 2 inches, 

 distinctly tapering; base somewhat enlarged and compressed; tip 

 conical and exposed, rows 12-14, nearly straight, slightly irregular 

 and spiral. 



Kernels at milk stage white, medium size; at dry stage dull 

 amber white, slightly longer than wide, medium thickness, 1.1 x 

 .98 x .4 cm. 188 seeds per oz.); crown slightly rounded; surface 

 abundantly and rather deeply wrinkled, often creased longitudinally; 

 set somewhat loosely on cob. 



Early Dawn. Refs. 207, 208, 285, 345, 444. Syn. 

 Dawn. 

 The first variety to bear this name was that listed 

 in 1892 by Johnson 6s Stokes, Philadelphia. They 

 offered Early Dawn as the " largest eared white cobbed 

 early sweet corn." The originator from whence the 

 stock seed came was a gardener in northern Vermont. 



