The breeding of cobs and ponies comes next in importance, and thirdly that of cattle, now mostly Herefords, though Speed mentions a native breed, long since extinct, all white with red ears.
The plant is monoecious, producing the staminate (male) flowers in a large feathery panicle at the summit, and the (female) dense spikes of flowers, or " cobs," in the axils of the leaves below, the long pink styles hanging out like a silken tassel.
The upland tracts also afford good pasturage for a number of cobs and ponies, which obtain high prices at the local fairs, and Pembrokeshire and Cardiganshire have long been famous for their breed of horses and ponies.
Prior to 1883 small horses were called indifferently Galloways, hobbies, cobs or ponies, irrespective of their height.
The sweetcorn plants have rocketed up, and some of them have three cobs per plant.
