Reid's Yellow Dent Corn is an old American heirloom roasting corn native to the state of Illinois. The variety was originally developed by Robert Reid of Tazwell County, Illinois in 1846 or 1847 shortly after he moved there from Ohio. Reid brought in his tow, a red corn variety known then as Gordon Hopkins Corn which he had been growing prior to his move. The next year, Reid had some very poor luck with his Gordon Hopkins corn that resulted in many bare areas of his corn field due to low germination. The bare areas were replanted with a popular local yellow flint corn variety and the two varieties accidentily crossbred. From this original cross, Robert Reid soon stabilized the cross-bred corn into a new variety, which his son James Reid later continued to maintain and improve from 1870 to 1900. During those first fifty years, the breeding selection of this corn variety was so rigid, that today, no other corn variety is said to breed as true as Reid's Yellow Dent does.

Eventually, this variety became very popular in America's Corn Belt and was widely grown throughout the Mid-West in the 1890's. In 1893, Reid's Yellow Dent won prizes at The World's Columbian Exposition which was held in Chicago that year (and which was destined to become the last and grandest of the nineteenth century's famous World's Fairs. More info is available on the 1893 World's Fair right here - just remember to come back when you're done, please!).

Reid's Yellow Dent Corn produces corn stalks which reach up to 7 feet high. The stalks are very heavy and leafy and are said to make excellent sileage.  These hardy stalks produce 10 inch ears of small-cobbed corn with 16 rows of deep, close set, large yellow kernels. Though this corn variety excels for use as stock feed or for making corn meal, if the corn is harvested when plump and very juicy, Reid's Yellow Dent Corn is also hard to beat when roasted.

Matures in 100 days and is widely adapted to the MidWest, Mid-Atlantic and Deep Southern climates.

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Trucker's Favorite White Roasting Corn, also sometimes errornously known under the name of White Trucker's Flavor Corn is an old open pollinated roasting corn variety that is adapted to the American South East. Little seems to be known about its origin and history. This old Southern corn can be used for roasting when ripe, but also for feeder corn when fully mature.

The plants of the Trucker's Favorite corn variety reaches 8 to 9 feet in height and produces a good crop of 8 to 10 inch long ears of corn. The ears have 14 to 18 rows of plump, tender, sweet white kernels (a yellow variation of Trucker's Favorite also exists). Besides being used for roasting, the kernels can be dried for stock feed or to grind into a flour.

Trucker's Favorite White Roasting Corn is much hardier than any sweet corn variety, resists heat and drought well and can also be planted much earlier than other corn varieties.

Matures in 80 to 100  days.

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Reportedly, Boone County White Corn is said to be an heirloom dent corn originally developed from a selection of White Mastadon Corn in 1876 by James Riley of Boone County, Indiana. However, despite this, some food historians state that the variety was already so widely known in the Confederation during the American Civil War (1861-1865) that it has been noted that:

While another food history source adds more detail and says:

Whatever the facts may be about its true origin (developed by Riley in 1876 or known prior), what is known for a fact is that Boone County White Corn went on to become one of the most important corn cultivars of the 19th and early 20th century and is regularly mentioned in agricultural documents of the era for a period of about 50 odd years, including in M. G. Cunniff's "The Agricultural Conquest of the Earth" that covered the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Cunniff gives quite a lot of space devoted to corn in his article, but only two varieties are mentioned: Yellow Dent (probably Reid's Yellow Dent) and Boone County White.

Boone County White Corn is among the highest yielding of all white corn varieties and produces wonderful white cobbed ears that are 9 to 11 inches in length with creamy white kernels. The corn stalks are very tall, 9 to 10 feet in height with heavy foliage. When harvested young, the ears are wonderful for roasting and also truly excel when ground into white corn meal. 

As noted earlier, Boone County White Corn was widely used in the South for making corn bread. Though originally made by Native Americans, corn bread was quick to become a favorite of early white settlers in North America who typically referred to corn bread as "Corn Pone". They also called them "Journey Cakes" or "Johhny Cakes". When the corn bread was made following the Native American tradition where the bread was baked in the hot ashes of an open fire, the settlers referred to it as "Ash Cake", where as if it was baked in the fire on a hoe it was called "Hoe Cake".
Boone County White Corn is the best corn you can grow for use as corn bread and matures in 110 to 120 days.

Traditional Southern Corn Pones
 

White corn meal (about 2 cups) Salt (about 1 tsp.) Pinch of baking soda (1/4 tsp.)

Lard or shortening the size of an egg (4 Tbsp.)  1 tea-cupful boiling water (about ¾ cup) ½ tumbler buttermilk (about ½ cup)

Sift together the corn meal, salt, and baking soda. Work in the lard with your finger tips until it is well blended. Pour in the boiling water and continue to work the mixture. Gradually add enough buttermilk to make a soft dough, but one firm enough to be molded or patted into small, flat cakes. Place cakes in a hot, well-greased iron skillet and bake in a moderate oven (about 350F) for 35-40 minutes. Makes about 12 corn pones. 

Traditionally corn pones should be eaten hot and serve with butter, molasses, maple syrup or honey.

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Pencil Cob Corn, also known as Tennessee Red Cob Corn, is white seeded roasting corn that has existed in the American South going back to the era prior to 1900. Unfortunately, its date of origin is uncertain, largely due to the fact that early Tennessee farmers referred to several similar varieties as "Tennessee Red Cob Corn". In more recent years, this southern variety of heirloom corn has become known under the name of Pencil Cob Corn due to its unique pencil-thin cob that is of a peculiar red color. In addition to its interesting cob, Pencil Cob or Tennessee Red Cob also features very deep, shoepeg type, white kernels.

The plants of this variety grow to 5 to 6 feet in height and produce two or three ears of corn per plant. The plants are very sturdy and are often grown in an intercropping system to provide support for pole beans. Each ear is medium large in size and besides being excellent for roasting ears, also makes a good corn bread.

Matures in 80 to 100 days. Tolerates drought.

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