1902 
*47 
A KERNEL OF CORN. 
For Children, Young and Old. 
Part II. 
The silks have begun to appear on much of the corn 
in the fields. I have seen corn silk and have often 
played with it, from childhood, yet I never realized 
until to-day what a pretty thing it is. Each silk is 
armed with tiny reddish hairs. These probably aid 
in catching the pollen. Here is a tiny ear just start¬ 
ing, Fig. 93. It is not over two inches long. It was 
so snugly hidden away in the stalk that one would 
not suspect that an ear was already under way there. 
There are little embryo kernels all arranged in regular 
double rows, with a vigorous young silk emerging 
from each one. The kernels are not much larger than 
the silk now. Near the tip of the ear the silks are 
much younger and smaller. Here is a larger ear in 
which the silks have already begun to push out from 
ths husks, Fig. 94. They must have grown wonder¬ 
fully in a short time. Those from the tip are still be¬ 
hind; they are completely outstripped by those from 
the base. If the corn should be late or if the pollen 
should not hold out well these would have a poor 
chance. The result would be what we so often see, a 
long tip of bare cob at the end. Here is a still older 
ear, in which some of the tips of the silks have begun 
to look brown and withered. Yet there are still 
young silks in the center which have never yet 
reached the light. Near the tip of the ear are some 
which are less than an inch long. Lower down on 
the ear some kernels have begun to enlarge material¬ 
ly. What a wonderful process it must be when one 
of these young kernels is fecundated! To think that 
the tiny pollen grain lighting on the silk must throw 
out a tube long enough to reach the kernel at its base 
seems impossible! Yet not only must this be done, 
but it must be done in every silk upon the cob if a 
perfect ear is to develop. The wonder is that there 
are so many nearly perfect ears to be found. 
The cornstalk itself is a beautiful object. Here is 
one broken at the joint. Cutting across it shows how 
closely and prettily the base of the leaf is wrapped 
around it. See the numerous ducts which appear near 
the outer part of this leaf. The pith itself is the pret¬ 
tiest part. The plant-cells are here so large that they 
can be easily seen with the hand lens. There are nu¬ 
merous ducts all through it. Corn must take up and 
give off large amounts of water. It needs good tillage 
to aid in providing this supply. 
I brought in some tassels and laid them on the 
table. They have now been there two days. We are 
often told that corn is a grass, but I never realized it 
so well before. It is wonderful how much one of these 
branches of the tassel looks like a head of rye or of 
some of the grasses. Of course there are no seeds in¬ 
side. Where the kernel should be are two stamens. 
As I look at the underside of the tassel the stamens 
hang like pendants, each by a thread so slender that 
it seems as though it would break with the first 
breath of wind. The table is covered with the bright 
yellow pollen. The grains are so large that one can 
readily see them scattered about and piled up like 
grains of sand. No sand can equal them in color, 
though, unless it were pure gold. To see the number 
of pollen grains which have fallen from this tassel, 
and then think of the amount of life energy stored in 
each, makes it seem reasonable that cutting away the 
tassel before it ripens its pollen should relieve the 
plant of much of its task, as claimed. There is so 
much pollen produced that part of the tassels might 
well be cut away if it were worth while. If it were 
THE BEGINNING OF THE EAR. Fie. 93. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
not that but one in a thousand of the grains produced 
is ever likely to reach a silk and perform its proper 
mission Nature would not need to be so lavish in its 
production. I wanted to find how the pollen gets out 
of the anther. The lens readily shows a round open¬ 
ing at the tip which lets the grains roll out like pow¬ 
der from a powder-horn, or perhaps it is more like a 
rip at the end of a glove-finger. I cannot describe it 
right; you must see it yourself. Just tap some of the 
stamens and watch the shower of golden grains fall 
upon the finger nail. 
I spoke of the resemblance of the corn tassel to the 
head of other grasses, particularly the grains. I am 
reminded of this by the more forcible resemblance 
shown in tassels borne at the end of suckers. Many 
such tassels bear kernels also, as in Fig. 95. In other 
words, there are some perfect flowers intermingled 
among the staminate ones, just as they are in a head 
of wheat or rye. In the sorghums and Kaffir corn 
this tendency has reached its full development and 
all the grain is borne at the top, instead of in an ear 
below as it is in corn. The evolution of plants, which 
is nothing more than the development of one form 
into another, as seen in the garden, is a most inter¬ 
esting subject. Corn, like many other cultivated 
plants, has varied so much that no one knows surely 
what is the original form from which it came. 
_ FRED W. CARD. 
TREES FOR THE FARM. 
Johann Schoff, a German writer, who traveled in 
New Jersey in 1777, noted the wasteful methods in 
dealing with the timber growth, and wrote that“some- 
THE EAR AND ITS SILK. Fig. 94. 
thing ought to be done to teach the peasants to hus¬ 
band their wood supply so that their great-grand¬ 
children might have a stick upon which to hang their 
kettles.” But the pioneers had their hands full, and 
were not looking out for future generations; if they 
had, they would have laid out the roads around the 
hills instead of over them, and they would have left 
the forest undisturbed on the thin ridges and the 
washy hillsides. At present there are such spots on 
almost every farm, which are of little use for farm¬ 
ing, and, if covered with wood growth, would be a 
protection to crops and yield a supply of fuel. I have 
been quite successful in refreshing a worn hillside, 
and find that the best way to accomplish a work of 
this kind is to imitate Nature’s methods. An aban¬ 
doned field will soon spring up with bushes and seed¬ 
lings of the forest. Grasses and weeds grow and there 
catch the leaves that drift about in Autumn. A tiny 
tree seed, finding lodgment in the moldering leaves, 
germinates, and soon becomes a sapling. This nat¬ 
ural process of reforestation is usually slow, and may 
be hastened by a little timely assistance. The ground 
is sometimes so bare in places that nothing will lodge 
on it. If we stir the soil for a small space, mix in it 
some tree seed, and cover with leaves and brush, we 
will soon see the results of our work. The trees 
which are adapted to such locations as these are 
White elm, wild cherry, Black locust, hackberry and 
White pine. Oaks, chestnuts and hard maples may be 
introduced when the ground becomes partially shaded 
by the hardier sorts. 
GRAIN-BEARING TASSELS. Fig. 95. 
For wet, undrained spots, the Sugar maple, Black 
ash, cottonwcod and the different varieties of willows 
will be found useful. Along fence rows and running 
streams nut trees should be planted, and in course of 
time they will be a source of profit. There is an oppor¬ 
tunity for some one to improve our native nut trees, 
walnut, chestnut, hazel and hickory. It takes so long 
to see results in improvement by selection that the 
nut-bearing trees have not received the attention that 
the fruit trees have. Seedling hickories vary very 
much in the size and quality of nuts, and where there 
is a tendency to vary improvement is easy. In hunt¬ 
ing the woods for young saplings to transplant in the 
Spring, the quick growers will be the ones most in 
favor. The Tulip poplar is a rapid grower and is very 
ornamental; the aspen is also a quick grower, and is 
a most striking tree of the forest. Its trunk is white 
when it sheds its bark, and its leaves shake and shim¬ 
mer in the lightest breeze owing to the peculiar fact 
that the leaf stem is flattened vertically instead of 
horizontally. The walnut, in its younger days, is a 
rapid grower; so is also the Carolina poplar. The 
maples are fairly good growers, and where ornamental 
trees are wanted they should not be passed by. The 
Red maple and the Silver maple open their flowers 
some time before the leaves appear, and are among 
the earliest flowers of Spring. The Sugar maple may 
be known by its habit of blossoming at the same time 
that the leaves expand. Most forest trees transplant 
readily, excepting the hickory and the pines. The 
latter should have their roots cut one year before they 
are desired for removal. This will cause many small 
fibrous roots to start from the severed roots, which 
assist in renewing the growth when the tree is trans¬ 
planted. The easiest of all trees to propagate is the 
willow. A branch stuck in the ground so that its base 
is near water will soon make a tree. Willows are not 
only easy to obtain, but are very useful as soil binders 
on the borders of streams that are apt to wash their 
banks. 
For the Eastern States there is perhaps nothing bet¬ 
ter for economic planting than the Black locust. It 
grows readily from its large bean-like seeds, which 
ripen in early Autumn. It is one of the fastest grow¬ 
ers, becoming large enough for a fence post in 10 or 
12 years. For fence material nothing surpasses the 
locust in durability. In connection with the discus¬ 
sion as to the best time to cut timber to escape the 
ravages of the boring insects, it may be said that mid¬ 
summer is most desirable. Then the starch and nitro¬ 
genous compounds are in the leaves and twigs, while 
in the dormant season these food elements on which 
the borers thrive are stored in the trunk. Do not let 
anyone forget Arbor Day. It is deserving of wider 
popularity among all classes. It is a pleasure to plant 
and see trees grow; even if we do not live to see them 
in fruition—some one else will. As an old writer 
quaintly says: “In the name of God, graffe, set, 
plant and nourish up trees, in every corner of your 
grounds; the labor is small, the cost is nothing; the 
commoditie is great; yourself shall have plenty, the 
poor shall have somewhat to relieve their necessitie, 
and God shall reward your diligence.” o. davis. 
Whitehouse, N. J. 
Express Company Plays Ball With Eggs. 
We stamp all our eggs and put them in boxes holding 
one dozen each. The boxes are packed in crates, some 
holding 32 dozen and some 40 dozen each. There is al¬ 
ways a good layer of chaff in bottom of crate, and chaff 
is also packed between boxes and sides and ends of 
crate. Yet with all our care we get complaints of broken 
eggs; sometimes four or five dozen in a crate. As I per¬ 
sonally pack and deliver the eggs to the express com¬ 
pany I know they are in good shape when they receive 
them. We have asked the express company several 
times to pay us for the broken eggs but have never re¬ 
ceived a cent. Our crates are not the common cheap 
sort, but are well made with hinged covers and good 
strong fasteners, and bound with hoop iron around the 
ends, yet they are often returned to us with covers 
broken off. bottom or side stove in, or ends split so they 
have to be repaired before we can use them. This Win¬ 
ter five were lost entirely, as the person we ship to re¬ 
turned them to the express company. Have any of your 
readers been bothered the same way, and have they 
found a remedy? If so let us know, as we do not feel 
lik« grinning and bearing it any longer. j. *. 
North Collina, N. Y. 
