Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/50

 MAIZE scripts, which office ho held till the death of the archl.Miop in 1*1*. Ilo was for several years editor of tin- " British Magazine," to he contributed A largo number of valu- able essays and dissertations, chiefly on sub- jeota of prophecy and its right interpretation, church history, criticism, &c. His principal are : " An Inquiry into the Grounds on which the Prophetic Period of Daniel and St. has been supposed to consist of 1260 years " (1826) ; " Letters on the Voluntary Sys- tem " (1837) ; " The Dark Ages, being a series intended to illustrate the state of Religion and Literature in the 9th, 10th, llth, and I'Jth Centuries" (1844; 3d ed., 1853); iyg on the Reformation in England" (1849)"; and " Eruvin, or Miscellaneous Essays on Subjects connected with the Nature, His- tory, aii.l Destiny of Man" (1850). He also prepared an "Index of such English Books printed before the year MDO. as are now in the Archu-piscopol Library at Lambeth," which was printed, but not published. MAIZE, or Indian Cora (zea mays), a valuable grass of the tribe of phalaridea. The stems, unlike those of most grasses, are solid, with well defined nodes, and often producing from the lower nodes aerial or prop roots, some of which reach the soil ; on the portion of the stem be- tween the nodes is a broad shallow channel upon alternate sides; the stem is simple above, but often produces branches, or suckers, from the lower joints. The long linear-lanceolate leaves are flat, pointed, pubescent above, and with a broad midrib channelled on the upper side; sheaths smooth, downy on the margins, with a short ligulo. The inflorescence is monoecious, .M... -. the staminate flowers in clustered spikes at the summit ot the stem, forming what is ralK-d the fcMMl ; the ^ikelet* are two-flowered, cad. Imv.n- three .stani.-n* ; the pistillate
 * denM spfkes crowded upon a

'he <-,.!; these are enveloped by the sheaths of altered leaves, the husks ; the "whole pistillate spike is called the ear, and appears at the axils of the leaves ; each pistillate spikelet is two-flowered with one flower abortive ; when the grain is ripe the withered glumes, abortive flower, and palets remain upon the cob as the chaff ; the ovary is terminated by a long hair- like style, which projects beyond the husks, and is usually bifid at the extremity ; these styles together are the silk ; after fertilization the ovary enlarges to form the grain and the styles wither; the grain is usually flattened by crowding, wedge-shaped or round-kidney- shaped, with a shallow groove containing the embryo. In the different varieties from one to four pistillate spikes or ears are borne by each stalk, though rarely more than two, and the number of rows of kernels varies from 8 to 12 or more, but they are always in even numbers. It is not rare to find abnormal spe- cimens in which pistillate flowers are borne upon the tassel, where they perfect their grain, and the end of the cob is sometimes pro- longed and furnished with staminate flowers. The maize plant is affected in a remarkable degree by climate and soil ; it soon adapts it- self to a locality, and by continuous cultiva- tion from the same seed year after year, a local variety or strain becomes established. Though all the kinds of maize in cultivation, at least in the United States, are regarded as of one species, the varieties are almost endless ; these are produced not only by local influences, but by selection ; it is one of the species in which any peculiarity may be readily fixed in a few years by carefully selecting and sowing seeds from those plants which have the desirable features most strongly marked. In respect to size, there are varieties from 2 or 3 ft. high up to 15 and 18 ft., with the stalks and leaves large in proportion ; the ears vary greatly in size and number of rows of kernels, which sometimes reach 24, 32, or more. There is a great difference in the form and size of the grain ; a miniature kind, known as Brazilian, has ears about the size of one's little finger, with grains not larger than a mustard seed ; while at the other extreme are the large south- ern varieties with kernels half an inch long. In the variety called rice pop-corn the kernels are pointed at both ends and but little com- pressed, and in the dent varieties there is a distinct depression at the upper end of the grain; in some the grains have a sharp hook at the end. In one variety, which has been described by Bonafous as a distinct species, Z. cryptosperma, the floral envelopes of the pistil- late flowers, instead of being as is ordinarily the case in a rudimentary or imperfect condi- tion, are fully developed, and enclose the grain when ripe in a miniature husk ; this variety has been considered as the primitive type, but it is said to lose its husky envelopes in cultivation ; neither this nor any other form of maize has been found in the wild state. The grains of maize present a great variety in color, from