"Will this winter be cold?"
"Land alive! yes. Winters always are cold."
Warren settled himself and drew the ear across the blade. A shower of corn rattled down on the bottom of the tub.
"Oh! is that the way you peel it off?"
He threw his head back and laughed.
"Oh, you Englisher! We shell it off."
"Well, it peels too. You peel a potato and an apple with a knife blade. Oh, what a pretty white core!"
"Cob. We Americans are adding new words to the language. A core has seeds in it. There, see how soft it is."
Doris took it in her hand and then laid her cheek against it. "Oh, how soft and fuzzy it is!" she cried. "And what do you do with it?"
"We don't plant that part of it. That core has no seeds. You have to plant a grain like this. The little clear point we call a heart, and that sprouts and grows. This is a good use for the cob."