MAIZE ( Sp. Ilaitian h mulls, the native name), or I NDIAN CORN (Zea Mays). An annual grass with erect stems and spreading leaves; male or staminate flowers borne upon the summit of the stem. which is commonly designated the tassel; and the female dowers upon the ear, which rises from the arils of the leaves. The protruding styles of the female flowers are called the silk. and the united pistil late spikes the cob. Fertilization of the pistillate flowers is accomplished by the wind or other agencies. which carry pollen from the staminate flowers to the silk. The botanical relationship of maize is shown in the discussion of grasses.
s nearest relative is probably the Mexican 1 asinte (Euelawna luxurians). a plant of the same general habit of growth. Experiments con ducted by v^shberger and others have seemed to show he wild form (which is unknown), or the An which maize was derived, is the ze differs from most grasses in having fistead of hollow stems. Adventi tious f• often developed from the nodes near t,. id which serve to brave the plant against N%. The plant varies in height from less than t feet in dwarf varieties to more than thirty et, reported for some forms in the West Indies. Specimens more than twenty feet tall are not infrequent in the rich river valleys in the States. The size of the ear and size. color, and hardness of the grain show marked variation. Ears vary in length Irma an inch in varieties of popcorn to fifteen inches or more in the dent varieties. White, black, yellow, and red. with numerous variants, are the colors of the grain. In some the grain is DO larger than rice grains; in a South American variety, euzco, the individual grains often weigh thirty-five times as much as the small popcorn grains. All de grees of hardness are shown. ranging from the flint varieties (so called from their extreme hardness) to the squaw corn and dour corn. the grains of which are so starchy and soft as to he readily broken between the fingers. The sea son required for maturing varies from one month in a Paraguayan variety to seven months in others. Maize shows a remarkable tendency to 'mix.' as the blending of varieties is called, the pollen of one variety showing its effect upon the grain of another. This may he seen in the common occurrence of variegated grains and in the deterioration of sweet corn and popcorn when planted near field varieties. Abnormal forms are of frequent occurrence, as cobs with staminate flowers upon their extremities, small ears borne toward the base, of tassels, branched and flat tened cars, etc.
Although the widespread cultivation of maize has given rise to very many varieties commonly grouped according to certain characters of the grain, most botanists recognize only a single species, Zca Mays, of very variable habit. Sturte vant, however, has given to the different groups the following specific names: Zea tonicata, pod corns: Zca cverta, pop corns; Zca indurata, flint corns; Zca inrentata, dent corns; Zea amylacea, soft corns; Zea saccharata, sweet corns; and Zea amyleasaccharata, starchy sweet corns. The first
group, Zea tunicata, or podded corn, which has a pod or husk for each kernel in addition to the enveloping ear leaves, is considered to be the original form of corn; Zca cvcrta, or popcorn. its nearest relative; and Zca amylacca, or soft corn, the highest developed form. Mill° maize, Jerusalem corn, Kafir corn. Egyptian corn, etc., are not varieties of Zca Mays, but of Andropo gon, and are known as non-saccharine sorghums.
Corn is generally thought to be a native of America, probably grown in a wild state on the plateaus of tropical America. All evidence points to its cultivation by the native tribes long before the discovery of the country by Columbus, who is said to have carried the first grains of corn to Europe on his first return voyage. Its culti vation in Europe spread very slowly. Although introduced into Spain at the end of the fifteenth century, it did not reach France until a hundred years later. Historical data concerning its dis tribution in Europe are conflicting in many in stances. but modern agricultural writers, sum ming up the evidence at hand, believe it was in troduced into France and Italy from Spain, into Switzerland and Hungary from Italy, into Aus tria and Southeastern Europe from Hungary. and from Switzerland into the valley of the Rhine. It is said to have been carried to Asia and Africa from Portugal. The distribution of maize on the American continents has been coincident with the progress of the white race in the New World. The limits of the distribution of eorn culture are given by De Candolle as 40° S. lati tude in South America, 54° N. latitude in North America, and 50° N. latitude in Europe. The popcorn ( see below). flint corn. dent corn. and sweet corn groups are represented in the United States by many varieties, the dent corn repre senting the hulk of the corn produced. In Europe the flint corns are more widely distrib uted than any other group. Flint corn in numer ous varieties has a large, hard kernel, either white. yellow. orange. red, blue, striped, or blazed. The ears are usually from six to twelve inches long and the plants commonly grow from four to eight feet high. Dent corn is characterized by the indentation at the top of the kernel caused by the drying and shrinking of the starchy matter within. The outer portion of the kernel is corneous as in the pop and flint corns, hut the proportion of starch is greater in this grail)) than in either of the other two. The length of the ear usually varies from six to twelve inches and the height of the plant ordi narily from six to ten feet. Most varieties have white or yellow kernels. hut various other colors are represented among the many different sorts. The varieties of dent corn exceed in number those of all the other groups combined.