"And one or two of your corn hills could be made a little higher, Hal,"
said his father. "If you look at the corn stalks you will see, down near
where they are in the ground, some little extra roots coming out above the
earth. In order that these roots may reach the soil, and take hold, the
dirt must be hoed up to them."
Mr. Blake showed the children what he meant, and Mab cried:
"Those roots are just like the ropes we had on our tent when we went
camping."
"That's it," said Daddy Blake. "These roots keep the tall corn stalks from
blowing over just as the ropes keep the tent from falling down."
"Oh, look!" cried Mab, as she passed one stalk of corn that was larger
than any of the others. "There's something growing on this that's just
like my doll's hair. I'm going to pull it off."
"No, you mustn't do that," her father said. "That is corn silk."
"Oh, I know what it is," said Hal. "It's brown stuff and sometimes when
you're eating corn it gets in your mouth and tickles you."
"Corn silk isn't brown until it gets old and dried," said his father. "At
first it is a light green, like this. And the silk is really part of the
corn blossom.
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