DESCRIPTIONS OF VARIETIES 



69 



abruptly conical and occasionally capped; rows 14-18, quite regular, 

 but occasionally somewhat twisted and irregular at the apex, spiral 

 arrangement evident in some instances, crowded around the cob. 

 Kernels at milk stage white, moderately narrow, shallow and 

 thick: at dry stage dull white; medium size, moderately long, nar- 

 row, and decidedly thick, 1.04 x .83 X .45 cm. 100 seeds per oz.); 

 oblong cr nearly rectangular in shape; crown nearly straight; 

 surface very irregular with deep and abundant wrinkling; loosely 

 set on cob. 



White Cob Marblehead. Refs. 169, 438, 477, 510, 

 535. Syns. Early White Cob Marblehead, Extra 

 Early Marblehead. Extra Early White Marble- 

 head, Harbinger White Marblehead. 

 For those who objected to the red cob of Nar- 

 ragansett and Marblehead, this new selection was 

 offered by J. J. H. Gregory in 1885. It came about 

 by selection from Marblehead of the purest white ears 

 by Mr. Gregory and resulted in a strain almost uniformly 

 white, both cob and kernel. This whiteness, however, 

 was gained at the expense of a slight decrease in earliness. 

 The variety was widely listed, but since Cory was 

 earlier it never became a leading variety. 



White Cory. Refs. 20, 74, 101, 121, 163, 207, 208, 220, 

 221, 238, 240, 241, 262, 275, 298, 335, 345, 367, 

 368, 405, 412, 450, 454, 478, 498, 508, 509, 512, 

 514, 515, 516, 518, 525, 533, 546. Syns. Astor, 

 Carter's Improved, Early White Cory, Extra 

 Early White Cory, First Crop, First Crop Sugar, 

 New Extra Early White Cory, New White Cob 

 Cory, White Cob Cory, White Cob Early Cory. 

 In a general description of Cory given in the 

 catalog of D. M. Ferry & Co. for 1893 is the key to 

 the interest placed by seedsmen in finding white cob 

 selections of the several important varieties of sweet 

 corn having a red color, such as Narragansett, Marble- 

 head, and Cory. " All the red cobbed corns should 

 be cooked quickly by dropping the ears into boiling 

 water to which a little salt has been added, for if sim- 

 mered over a slow fire, or allowed to stand in the water 

 after cooking, the red cob will discolor the kernels." 



White Cory was first introduced by D. M. Ferry 

 & Co., in 1892, after several years selection. When 

 introduced the selection was not entirely free from red 

 cobs, but the proportion of white to red seemed sufficient 

 to justify offering it to growers. This strain was quickly 

 taken up by other seedsmen and after a few years it 

 practically displaced Red Cob Cory. 



Eighty-eight days were required for White Cory 

 to produce edible ears at Geneva. This proved to be 

 3 days later than Red Cory, about the same season as 

 Early Sweet or Sugar, and 2 days earlier than Mimm's 

 Hybrid. The variety produces plants that are 1 foot 

 taller than those of Red Cory, more consistently tillered, 

 and have longer tassels that are less streaked with red 

 at the base. The husked ears are slightly longer, 

 more cylindrical, and more uniformly 8-rowed. 



Plant medium tall, 5-6 feet; stalk medium slender and 

 straight; nodes 9-10, slightly exposed, occasionally somewhat 

 prominent ; internodes moderately streaked with pale red on exposed 

 surfaces. Brace roots occasionally present, slender, not very 

 useful. Tillers moderately many, slightly shorter than central 



stalk. Leaves medium long and medium broad, 28-30 x 3 !f-3% 

 inches; sheath usually equal to but occasionally shorter than inter- 

 node. Tassel moderately long and slender, 18-20 inches, not 

 colored at the base; terminal spike erect; lateral spikelets horizontal 

 to slightly drooping, many, moderately long, and moderately 

 crowded; bracts green, sparsely striped with pale red; anthers 

 variable in color; 63-65 days to anthesis. 



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

 ears per stalk. Shank medium long, 3-5 inches, moderately slender 

 and brittle. Husks medium number and length, rather tightly 

 wrapped, not easily removed. Husked ear medium long and 

 slender, 7-8 x 1 . -1 : , inches, slightly tapering; base slightly 

 enlarged, often open; tip long, conical and exposed; rows 8, regular, 

 straight, often noticeably paired; furrows deep and moderately 

 wide. 



Kernels at milk stage white, medium width, rather shallow 

 and thin; at the dry stage dull white, moderately small, much 

 wider than long, .86 x 1.1 x .39 cm. (112 seeds per oz.); short broad 

 oval in shape; crown distinctly rounded; surface sparsely and 

 shallowly wrinkled; set tightly on cob. 



White Evergreen. Refs. 12, 42, 79, 158, 238, 241, 335, 

 372, 403, 406, 460. Syns. Early White Evergreen, 

 New Snow White Evergreen, New White Ever- 

 green, Snow White Evergreen. 

 The Burpee White Evergreen, introduced in 1903 

 by W. Atlee Burpee, originated from one pure white 

 ear of Stowell's Evergreen found by C. S. Clark of 

 Wakeman, Ohio. After 5 years of careful work, seed was 

 offered to Burpee and it became one of the important 

 introductions of the new century. The attempt was 

 made to get a strain with heavy light green silk and 

 tassel, but about 20 per cent of the plants showed dark 

 in the floral organs. 



The cob and kernels at all stages of edibility were 

 beautifully white, elimination of the amber tint being of 

 great value, especially to canners. The plant was 

 robust and the ears large, in fact for serving on the cob 

 they were considered by some to be too large. The 

 young ears remained in edible condition for a long time 

 and when two or more were produced on a stalk they 

 came in succession thus lengthening the season for a 

 given planting. The variety has been offered con- 

 tinuously at least to 1926, but has had only short periods 

 of popularity. 



White Mexican. Refs. 132, 238, 241, 303, 378, 403, 

 533. Syns. Early Vacaville, Early White Mexican. 

 White Mexican, originated by G. H. Cummings, as 

 a variety name has been known since 1906, when it was 

 offered as a novelty by Vaughan Seed Store of Chicago, 

 Illinois. Most listings found have been from seed com- 

 panies of the Middle West where the variety has attained 

 some popularity. The name itself would indicate rela- 

 tionship to the popular Black Mexican and there are 

 several citations of this relationship, among them the 

 following: Michael, 1916, " originated at Sioux City, a 

 bud propagation of old Black Mexican;" Darling and 

 Beaham, 1908, " several years ago some white kernels 

 were discovered on a cob of Black Mexican." As grown 

 at Geneva during the last few years a close resemblance 

 of the various stocks was noted to Silver Bantam and 

 Market Gardener's Extra Early. This indicated mixed 

 stocks as well as confusion as to the actual type. 



