Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1859-08-21

EASTMAN l. Co and nCt personally 10 either Of the frope
The Nativity of aIaize; Or. Indian Corn.
From the Cincinnati Gazstte.
The American Scientific Associaiis n is the debat-
ing society CT seeut.fc men; and con. oquently a
lumber-room Of crude opinions We mean no dis
rsspect In saying this Il is necessary 10 have such
Association, and it is all the better, that each
man brings his contribution If notions. In The gen.
cral assortment something valuable may lie picked
up. In the Gszste cf the l0ta ms, occurred the
ftlowug paragraph, taken Fl ON she proceedings CT
the Scientific As5t cisiiop
'Dr. j. II Gibhou tbee clmmenced reading his
paper upon Tie question as TO iadian Corn Zea
Nays being native of three connt nts. like cotton
and tobacco. In commencing he stated some facts
as TO Maize being fouEd at the present day Asia
and Africa. Il grows he said. in mountainous
gisns in China in the latitude of 3Go. The natives
pay little attention to culture. and it is of infe
ror quality they possess a the faIIpscOus grain-,
but do net make bread, however. Rice is used TO
great extent. DR.. Livingstone has boiled green
Maize presented to him in Africa By negroes who
lad never while man before They often
roast 1t and use butler upon it. The sncitnt Egyp-
tians were great caters OF bread, and he thOuglt
they used Iadisn Cora 10 great exten'. The
sTesktr dEoit at some ltng'h upon The mana If tde
DESERT which tie lsrasl.tes used when under he
leadership of Mo e3, and argued that Indian Corn
he very ar;iele
This is far specimen Of many other debates
between Sciehtifc, Agricultural and horticultural
Societies, and il is oCnintd a single aud very
interesting poiht shall give the subject little
examination We belie7e Maizs 20 te native
American, and confess to a s;r ng Partially for
that idea This, however stall not prevent US
from giving the evidence fairly ami candid y.
Let US first dispose Of d. Gihbjn's statement. B.
ginning at The last, DR.. G. must have read the Mo-
saio history as many ether people read the Bible,
with very super fetal observation Of its conIerts
Il happens that the "llauns" which the lsraeilts
used under Moses is very exsctiy described in szs
color and tqste, and is much like corn as cucum-
oers are like ii. 1t was ga small. rtuEd thing
''snall the hoqr fros;' ''liks cOriAnisr seed"
white and sweet like honey.
In the next place the aDcient EZyptiars we're not
great eaters Of bread if cur bread be "a ant By he
term The iIebreEs, signing for Egypt, cid not
opg for bread, but for the leeks and onions The
anc:e,t Egyptians had not Indian e3rn az all 1t
is sufficient to state here The evidence cf Dr.. Pick
ering. of the exploring expediti.n, who places In
dian Corn emoug the iatrodaced plants Of EgyP,
AID says:
'.Whether the maize was introduced irtJ Egypt
from the East or the West, ! have met wi h
evidence that the plant oXIs'ed in the country prior
to the discovery Of America DR.. 2 ckeiing'6 views
are entitled to great weight for be vis ed al prts
Of the EARTH and made the habits of man the special
OBJECTS of his inquiry.
IL the nezs place. Livngstcne aad B1tth found
different varieties OF the Sorghum in the interior OF
Africa where il is an uBquesIi1nabe native. Il
they found Corn there, il is no more eV ience Of s
nativity thau its leiugaouud in Egypt. The region
where LVir gstone found Corn if be dij 4dOined tie
Portuguese Province of Angola from which it might
essily be introduced. Ii Corn is found in Chi
la ii might easily have bes introduced lhrcus all
Asia In fourth part Of the tiae since the discOTe
~ cf America As to Europe, it was cOnfesseily
introduced there 1t w8s not known in Europe
ba tot, irft th,a Nh
above, therefore, may be pat aside, as of little
worth.
But there is another evidence that seems to us a
liule be r though not sufficient Tie japanese
lecognz lodian Com when it wss brought ikere;
and when we consider the elm ue Of JaP5n, and
the easy passsge of The Pseihe ocean, it might, in
the ahseI of other testimony, be asked wheter it
was rot introduced from Japan But there is other
testimony, and We consider II Overwhelming, as TO
The nativity of Indian Corn proper--pet Sorghum.
This testimony is bolh positive and ,gative.
!. DR.. Pickerit found he Maize in the ruined
Inco villages of Peru. The first settlers CT New
EGG ard found the Indians Culuvatiug and esiingit.
The fret white who ever visited, he NOrth-West,
fou. the indians Rising AID using IL. l. was
found in he frat settlement of South America, and
introduced from tueTe irt2 Europe. IrO points may
be considered settled by positive testimjny-that
Maize IS native Of imeIicag and that 1t IS not a
native of EurcFe. Our il Quiry, therefore, is con
fined to Asia AMI Africa Still it is important to
observe t7at in Asia and Africa, were the first set
tlemeLts # msIknd, and Of them we have ty far
the earliest and most au hentic e timOnies, 10 say
nothing Of those memorable monuments which is
described much of tee domestic manners, and hi5to-
~ OF the ancients IT, theu the civilization Of Asia
and Africa knew any thing Of Indian corr, or pots-
toes, buck heat, turkeys, Is possible that
e7iderLa Of them should exist in those histories
monuments? Therefore it is that.
3 We consider tie negative evi1erce as complete
L afVVGTv faTv
entirely erela5irs. Let turn to the Mosaic
count-the ruins Of Hineyeh and the monumen's of
EgyIt. We fnd evidence Of the existence of barley
and wheat and beans, aud onions, and lentel',
but whore is there auy evidence of maize or Pota-
toes? Indian Corn i5 one of the NEST remarkable
and easily described paI IS knrwn, and yet all
cient History is silent its existence. Where is
the evidence? Wheat was found among the num-
mics The entire abseace Cf any sort Of evidence,
is 10 cur mind conclu .vJ of The question But this
is not all. The classic ages CT Greece ard Rome
had int ell igsbt writer's agriculture, and Rome
brought from Africa large portion of her plies
Now, ii Car hoge or EgyIt er Assyria, had ever
known CT heard Of Indian Corn, would these writer's
lave been totally silent interesting a plant?
Nor is This al. De Gogdet, learned French writer
on the origin Of arls aad sciences, has collected all
that the aueit Mt writer's say, ald all that tradition
asserted OF ansi, ut agrcu ture, and ne,Word il
there about Indian Corn. There is additional sigui-
| fc4nce given to tie fact, that wherever Indian
u
Corn is introduced it is important plant. 1t is
| net thing 10 be overlooked; and yet all aneeint
history is silent in regard to it. We csnelud there
! FORE with DR. Pickering, that there is evilencs
of the existence OF this pant prior to the discovery
| # America.
The discovery of Indian corn. as well as the pc
! tato in Americ4, has Opeoel a CHAPTER in the
| physical history of man. America has given to
| Europe more mesn5 of physical support than she
! has we'd from it, Italy is no longer in danger
! of famine for want Of food. England can carry on
her nBnuficiures to any extent, and rely upon
America to send her food. The time is not far dis
tant, when hall of Europe will get their bread from
America, and when the three hundred millions of
bushels of Indian Corn, now grown in the Ohio
valley, will hardly exceed what shall exp3rt. In
the grand advance CT the human race towards its
ultimate restoration, the physical mus. keep pace
| WITH the intellectual snd the neral The earth will
yield her treasures, snd he arts will be creative Of
coDfort the granite mOuu tains yield up their gold;
the caverns toeir jeWels and he soil its multiplied
food for multiplied millions.
The most tender hearted msn we have ever heard