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Shoepeg corn is a term used in the United States for a white, sweet corn with very small kernels. The term dates back to before the American Civil War, when the Harford County, Maryland area was well-known throughout the nation for its canned shoepeg corn. One businessman in particular, Malcolm Mitchell , promoted Mitchell's Shoepeg Sweet Corn well beyond the local farms that grew it.
Those farms were later bought by the U.S. government for the Aberdeen Proving Ground, established as a consequence of the U.S. declaration of war against the Central Powers in 1917.
The term likely refers to the small wooden shoe pegs used after 1838 to attach soles to boots. These pegs were small enough to be driven nine-to-the-inch by a pegging machine in common use at the time.
Cereals Grasses