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Show WHY CORN POPS To a great number of people there is a great deal of mystery tied up in kernel of popcorn. In the winter ,'vrn.ng no doubt, there are a great ::.;uiy readers of the Utah Farmer nho sit around and read and eat popcorn pop-corn and very often there are those wiio ponder on the magic that makes the little hard, pearly kernels turn to i Huffy halls of snowy white. Popcorn 1 :-;.rnt'ls are enclosed in a hard, taugh ! teed coat that is comparatively im-, im-, pervious to water vapor, and other i .cases. It differs materially from field ! corn in this respect. When popcorn which should contain about 12 per rent of moisture for good popping, is suddenly heated the moisture within the seed is convened into steam. The s"ed coat being eonipara lively impervious im-pervious to water vapor or steam, an intense internal pressure is developed 'iy the steam. When the pressure betimes be-times greater than the seed coat acn .withstand the latter suddenly hursts and the whole kernel turns insideout ml the eorn. as we say. "pops." Wh'Ti the c.trn has dried out so that t contains considerably less than 12 er cent of moisture and pressure within the krenel. due to heating, is not sufficient to hurst the seed coat, so popping Iocs nat occur. There are other causes of poor popping pop-ping qualities. Too high a hent also 'nterf-res with normal popping. Then 'on. when pup corn is harvested be-fore be-fore th" gr.i'n has throughly ripened mil dried out un th- stalk in the field the popping cpialiti.-s are severely in-lured. in-lured. Popcorn should he lift on the stalk until fully ripe, the husks are and the stalk Is d. or has lost 'very bit of s.ippiness. If harvested before this st;g.. has !, n reached ind tip' aars are dri.-d out after thev have h.-t-u removed from the stalk It will not pop a - it : tumid If the corn :s harv.-..'.-d at th.. proper time and s sub-! 11 .11 1 1 stor. d In a warm plai e it niav dry out to su.-h an e- -1 1 1 n to refu-i- to pop. Trouble from bis laihr, however, .an usnuallv be overi-onte.tr f i v ftf w,-tf fafaf wavo overt onie bv exposing th" corn to n lower temperature and a master at-iuo-here when the right amount of moisture will be reabsorbed and the i popping t"alit v r- ' or- . I , Ponot i tne sprinkling i orn that I too rlrv wl'b a s'li ill aicoiint of mols- I 'ore and alloving it to .-t in a cool atnio-plier.- t:!I t'o- normal amount of moisture h:n be.-n r ;t b s o r be , 1 will tut it In cti td condition acain. In sea-'ttns sea-'ttns 'Alien the stalks :ind leaves of pop. orn ;tre Injured by frn-.t hefore the grain it fullv ntte ami the stalks are ihoroughlv tlrie.l out. it will not pop normally and .sometimes not at .ill Kiir'herint.re, there Is no awy of treating sueh t orn to improve its pop ttlng tpirtlitles In short the popping of corn depends principally upon the Top reaching complete mnturlty on the stalk, and of sub -iinuntlr ntnr-ing ntnr-ing It In a cot I pboie to prevent Its moisture i ttnteni from fulling holow I 2 per cent. |