The sweet corns are characterized by translucent, horny kernels and their more or less crinkled, wrinkled or shrivelled condition. These corns are extensively grown for canning, especially in the eastern parts of North America.
The starchy-sweet corns have the lower part of the kernel starchy, the upper part half-horny and translucent. Little is known about this group.
Agricultural value: When Columbus landed in the West Indies, he was presented with a kind of bread made from a grain which the natives called "mahiz." From this word is derived the English maize, under which name the plant is known in Europe. Columbus took corn home with him, but outside of Spain and Portugal the plant was but slowly appreciated in Europe. It is now grown there, especially in Italy, where corn porridge (polenta) is the working man's common food, in Spain, where cakes of corn meal (tortellas) are of great importance, and in the countries along the lower course of the Danube. Latterly it has been grown extensively in Europe, East India and Africa. Its cultivation in Europe, Asia or Africa, however, cannot be compared with its cultivation in America. In South and Central America and in the United States it is grown for both grain and fodder. Its importance as a forage plant increases northwards with latitude; along the northern limits of the corn belt it is grown principally for that purpose.
Fodder: Corn is commonly fed green as a supplement to pasture in the late summer and autumn. It is liked by all kinds of stock, but for soiling it is especially valuable for cattle. It is sometimes cut green and cured into dry fodder, but it is retentive of moisture and difficult to store for winter feeding
When grown for husking, the cured fodder, after the ripened grain is removed, is hard and woody. When cut short for feeding, moistened and left in a pile until fermentation starts, dry corn stover becomes more succulent, is wholesome, and is a cheap, bulky food for store cattle. It is, however, deficient in feeding value when compared with corn cut about two weeks earlier and made into ensilage with the grain.
In Canada, corn is grown as an ensilage crop almost to the exclusion of all others. Even along the northern limits of the corn belt the early dwarf flint varieties, such as the common Eight-rowed Yellow, will yield a larger food value per acre than any other forage