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Harvesting and Storing Pop Corn
The ears should be husked from the standing stalk and should be spread out in a well-ventilated place to dry and cure. The ears should not be piled up in a large heap or sacked before they are well dried out. It is best to leave the corn on the stalks until the husks are white and dry and the stalks have lost their sappy condition. The ears may be stored in any place where the air can circulate around them freely and where they are safe from birds, mice, and squirrels. An overhead rack made of narrow slats or wire netting and suspended by wires in the wagon shed will be a good storing place for pop corn, or the ears may be strung up and suspended from rafters in the garret. Pop corn should not be stored in a warm or heated room, as it will dry out too much. Wire crates made of fine-mesh wire are convenient for storing it and afford protection against rats and mice.
New pop corn may be used for popping as soon as it has dried out sufficiently. If properly stored it may be ready for use by Christmas.
If old pop corn will not pop on account of having become too dry, the popping quality may be somewhat restored by moistening or sprinkling with water before popping.
If very dry it should be soaked in water for awhile and then spread out to dry for a few days before using, or the dry corn may be put in a shaded place outdoors for a time, where it can absorb moisture from the open air. Pop corn usually pops best when it contains about 12 per cent of moisture.
If the popping quality has been injured by freezing while yet green or immature, by harvesting before ripe, or A B C FIG. 5. Ears of common varieties of pop corn:
A, White Pearl; B, White Rice; and C, Eight- Rowed. White Rice, the leading variety of pop corn, is grown more extensively than any other kind. The large size of the popped kernels of Eight-Rowed makes this variety prized for Christmas decorations. by heating in curing, or if moths and weevils have damaged the corn 'the trouble can not be remedied by these methods.
