14. When the corn is in the milk stage it is preparing to store up food for the young plants. How does it taste at this time? 15. Look closely at the base of the corn stalk and you will see roots extending obliquely into the soil. These are the brace roots. Of what use do you think they are to the corn stalk? LEAFLET LXI. IN THE CORN FIELDS.[79] BY ALICE G. McCLOSKEY. (Compare Leaflets XLII and XLIII.) [79] Junior Naturalist Monthly, October, 1903. [Illustration] "Caw caw!" said Jim Crow as he flew over our heads. "Was he jeering at us?" we wondered, the children and I. Perhaps he was inquisitive to know what business we had in the open country and in the fields of corn. Perhaps he was not concerned with us at all. Very likely crows are less concerned with us than we think they are. Jim Crow flew on out of sight, but we stayed among the ripening corn. The ears were filling out. The ends of the silk were turning brown. We saw many things that we had planned to look for in vacation: the tall stem, the brace roots, the long strong leaves and the way the ribs extend in them, the ruffled edges of the leaves, the two kinds of blossoms, and where each silken thread is attached. The whole story was before us. [Illustration: _Fig. 315. Over the fields in corn-harvest time._] But this is the harvest time and we are ready to learn a new lesson from the corn fields. As we watch them now let us answer the following questions: 1. How is the corn cut? 2. How many ears do you find on a stalk? 3. Are the ears on the same side of the stalk or on opposite sides? 4. Take into the school room as many kinds of corn as you can find and describe each as follows: a--The shape and color of the kernel. b--Number of rows of kernels. c--The number of kernels in each row. 5. Perhaps the girls will pop some corn and bring it to the Junior Naturalist Club meeting. Let them try to pop field corn. Cut kernels in two of field corn and pop-corn, and report whether they differ. Why does pop-corn pop? 6. Make a list of the foods for which corn is used. 7. Why are pumpkins planted among corn? 8. Why not make for your school room some decorations from ears of corn? [Illustration] LEAFLET LXII. THE ALFALFA PLANT.[80] BY L. H. BAILEY and JOHN W. SPENCER. (Compare Leaflet XXXIV.) [80] Junior Naturalist Monthly, October, 1904. [Illustration] All the things that the farmer sells are produced by plants and animals. The animals live on the plants. It is important that we know what some of these plants are. Some plants are grown for human food. Such are potato, wheat, apple, lettuce. Some are grown only to feed to animals. Such are grasses and clover,--plants that are made into hay. Hay is the most important crop in New York State. In fact, New York leads all the States in the value of the hay and forage. This value is more than 66 millions of dollars. [Illustration: _Fig. 316. Sprig of the alfalfa plant._]