DESCRIPTIONS OF VARIETIES 



37 



sidered the best of the early sweet corns and all other 

 varieties were compared with it before they were 

 accepted as worthy additions to the growing list. Early 

 Minnesota was first listed about 1871 by Grant Thcr- 

 burn and by Gregory and soon after by practically 

 all seed houses. No record of the origin of this variety 

 has been located although it was said to have been a selec- 

 tion from Narragansett. The variety has apparently 

 been continued to the present day in much the same form 

 as originally listed. 



Eighty-four days were required for this variety 

 to reach edible maturity at Geneva. This was 4 days 

 earlier than Howling Mob. 1 week earlier than Lyman's 

 Pride, and in season with Peep O'Day. The plants are 

 1 1 ' _> feet shorter than those of Howling Mob, some- 

 what more slender, have less tendency to tiller but are 

 practically identical in tassel characteristics. The 

 husked ears are decidedly more slender than Howling 

 Mob, and resemble those of Lyman's Pride in size, 

 shape and kernels more closely than any other variety. 

 The plant characters of the latter are very different, 

 however, and serve as distinguishing features between 

 these sorts. 



Early Minnesota is one of the oldest varieties now 

 grown. It has been used in many crosses both accidental 

 and controlled so that its value insofar as breeding is 

 concerned is recognized by the trade. Its uniformity 

 and attractiveness of ear coupled with more than 

 ordinary quality has given it the reputation associated 

 with it. 



Plant medium tall, 5—5 ] 2 feet ; stalks slender and slightly 

 zigzag: nodes 8-9, covered, not prominent; internodes slightly 

 streaked with red on exposed portions. Tillers few, nearly as tall 

 as central stalk. Leaves moderately long and moderately narrow, 

 30-32 x 3-3 ' j inches: sheath longer than internode, often streaked 

 with red. Tassel moderately long and slender, 18-20 inches; 

 terminal spike erect; lateral spiklets drooping, many, long, multi- 

 branched, moderately crowded; bracts green, rather sparsely striped 

 with light red: anthers usually yellowish buff (deep colonial buff 

 to chamois), 63-64 days to anthesis. 



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

 ears per stalk. Shank variable in length, 3-6 inches. Husks few, 

 rather short, light, tightly wrapped. Husked ear medium long and 

 slender, 7-8 x 1 3 ,-1;\ inches, nearly cylindrical to slightly tapering; 

 base somewhat open; tip conical, slightly exposed to capped; rows 

 8, distinctly paired, usually straight, somewhat irregular near base; 

 furrows deep and moderately narrow. 



Kernels at milk stage white, distinctly wide, rather shallow; 

 at dry stage dull white, medium size, much wider than long, short 

 and medium thick, .93 x 1.17 x .41 cm. 112 seeds per oz. : short 

 broad oval in shape; crown rounded; surface rather coarsely yet 

 abundantly wrinkled, often deeply ridged and irregular; set moder- 

 ately tight on cob. 



Early Pearl. Ref. 251. Syn. Pearl. 



From Calvin Crossman of New Milford, Con- 

 necticut, we obtained the story of Early Pearl, a variety 

 practically identical to Cupid, which was introduced 

 by the Chas. C. Hart Seed Co., of Wethersfield, Con- 

 necticut. Some 20 years ago a Mr. Marsh of that 

 town was spending the winter in Orange City, Florida. 

 He became acquainted with a market gardener from 

 New Jersey, and as one good farmer to another, the 

 conversation led to a discussion of the merits of Golden 



Bantam corn. The farmer from New Jersey admitted 

 the good qualities of Golden Bantam but had one 

 better, a sweeter, more tender white sort called Pearl. 

 Mr. Marsh secured 60 kernels of this new corn, brought 

 it home to Connecticut and passed a few seed around 

 to his neighbors. Most of the plantings resulted in 

 failure but the seed planted by Mr. Crossman did 

 well and under his guidance the stock increased from 

 year to year until M. H. Mallett, hardware dealer 

 and local seedsman, disposed of several bushels locally 

 every year. From Mr. Mallett the Chas. C. Hart Co. 

 secured seed and offered it in their catalogs for 1932. 

 Early Pearl produced edible ears at Geneva in 84 

 days, 4 days later than Cupid or Sugarsweet. The 

 plants are 1-1} L > feet taller and are much more productive. 

 The tassel type, ear and kernel characters are, however, 

 very similar. The description of Cupid can, with the 

 exceptions noted in this account, be considered appli- 

 cable to Early Pearl. Its attractiveness and relative 

 high production of small but good quality ears warrants 

 further consideration of this variety. Reports from 

 trials at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment 

 Station, moreover, serve to verify our conclusions. 



Early Rose. Refs. 178, 533. 



This sweet corn, new in 1907, came originally 

 from G. H. Cummings, the originator of White Mexican. 

 Henry Field Seed Co., Shenandoah, Iowa, first listed 

 the variety and featured it for the next five years 

 after which it was dropped because of the difficulty 

 in retaining seed true to type. Its chief character- 

 istic, a light rose color of the seed when ripe, dis- 

 tinguished this variety from any other sort. As a 

 type it resembled the Evergreen group but was in and 

 gone before any other evergreen was ready. 



J. Steckler Seed Co. of New Orleans, Louisiana, in 

 1910 offered a variety called First In The Market Sugar. 

 This was early and had ears larger than those of Crosby 

 with " kernels of a pale pinkish color, some of the ears 

 run entirely white while others again are of a deep pink." 

 This might have been similar to Early Rose, but since 

 both varieties soon disappeared from the trade, no 

 direct comparison could be made. 



Early Saskatchewan. Refs. 70, 348. 



Introduced in 1927 by the Burgess Seed and Plant 

 Company, Galesburg, Michigan, this variety has pro- 

 duced very uniform and attractive ears in the trials at 

 Geneva. No information is available concerning its 

 origin, and apparently it has not been cataloged by any- 

 one other than the introducer. By comparison Early 

 Saskatchewan has proved to be much like Banana Cream, 

 with the husked ears much alike in shape, size and kernels. 

 The plants, however, were more variable, some consider- 

 ably taller and produced its crop 5 to 6 days later. 



Plant medium tall, 5-5 ] 2 feet; stalks moderately heavy and 

 slightly zigzag; tillers many, equal to central stalk in height: tassel 

 medium long and slender, 16-18 inches with laterals distinctly long 

 and horizontal. Husked ears medium long and moderately slender, 

 7-8 x l'^-l^s inches, nearly cylindrical, slightly tapering; rows 12, 

 straight and crowded around the cob; kernels at milk stage white, 

 small, rather narrow and shallow. 



