, 1873-09-21

and maze Of American. It is truo that wlest,
barley, and spelt nro said to hayo oen found In
n btato Of original wildness in pcrsln. in the
vicinity Of IIainalat, aud in Mcsopotanl!a, noar
tho Euphratcn. Eut yiaws di1ror greatly upon
this subject. Some tl,ink that cereals nre only
found III O wild state In districts once donsely
pooplcd, and TINT attending circnnstancoa ra1,-
der it far moro probable that tls coroala had run
wild. 1Ylnn any kind Of grain rlna wild, it
usually
LOSES THOSE CHARACTERISTICS
which render it valuable In u domeAtlcatod state.
So maize lasneyor boun foundln d state Of orig
inal wdneas in America. Other naturolists,
again, deny the possibility Of such degeneration,
OF which ilo signs hAve over boon discovered III
Europe. The corroot Wow probably ia. that the
wild originals lnvo disappeared from tho face Of
qualities for which we cultivate their successors
to-day,
It ii remarkable that so fcw species Of single
family furnish tho chief article Of diet to tho
groator. .part Of humanity. OF 4,ooo species Of
ErasB~
LEss THAN TWENTY
are cultivated tor food, and tleso few Etvo ua
Tread, heer, k,andy, mud ausar,---tne sugar-cano
being also epucies OF graas: With man planta
have ever wandered, aud with him they will cou-
t1n,lo to wandor wherever ho 1nal.os a homo md
tlore iB sut1ciont warulth mud moisture to
avalon aud sustain life.
OF tho varions speeies Of grain, harloy and oats
reach the highest degree OF north latitude.
MAIZE
atlains tho largost size. It is nativo Of Amer
lea, and, when tho Europeans hrst cnmo to thiR
continent, was cultivated by all agricultural
tribes. Columbus introduced it into Europe. It
fluurishes bost in The hot and moist climate Of
tho tropics, where it yields 800 and 400-foid. md
frequently COD to 8D0-foll in very fruitful re-
gions. Farther north iu Mexico aud California,
tho yield is only To-iold. II neea not surprise
disseminated very rapidly in tho tropical re-
glonH Of tho Old World. Nowhere iB the con-
sumption Of this species Of grim 80 conBi'l-
erablo as in tue Lot districts Of Amosica,
riant growth and graceful habit add greatly. to
tho beauty OF the Landscape. At the beginning
OF this century. Mexico alone with q population
Of only 5,0uo,ooo. consumed 10000 quo lundrod
weight OF malze annually, md last year not less
than 10000, 900 buahels were raiaed in tho
United States alone.
Tho AlaxicanH aud Pernvians, above all oshors,
employ maizo in tho preparation Of broud, cake,
and various kinds Of pastry. Now, howeyer,
corn-broad, although very white is far too dry
md hard to bc .palatablo In Chill whoat has
long superseded corn. The South Americans
make very good syrup from the pulpy stom OF
tho crushed cane. Besides this, 1naizo is ,sod
in preparing various beverages, ,-umong them
chicha, which llAs boen drunk in Amorica from
tho most remote Periods md somowhat resem-
blos the beer wo mako Of wheat.
BREAD TAKES THE FIRBT PLACE
in the ranks Of vegetarian dict. 10 fur aB nntri-
ment and vitalizlng power arc concerned. This
is the case not ouly With the Europeans, but al~
most all other civilized nations. With much
been made the representative Of ovorything TINT
Borven to nonrish aud suHtain the body. Al
though bread is nndo of all species Of grain, M
Of rico by the l1lndoos aud corn BY ths natives
Of America, rye and wheat yields tho -four which
is most commonly employed and highly priced
for this purpose. 1ts appearance. and the facility
with which it may be preserved and transported, !,
| and, above all tho mode OF preparation, which
aud universal edible, have, for thouaauds Of
years, commended It to general use. Tho Biblo
tells Na that oven Sarah, Abrahnm's wife, knew
how to mako cakes Of fine lour.
Now, what is it that giyes flour snch snperla-
tive Importance as an article Of food? Science,
and especially chemistry, tcnl to solve tho
! question, aud found the answer in tho principles
OF dietetica.
CARBON, HYDROGEN, OXYGEN, AND NITROGEN
aro the four fundamental pillars III tho conHrrc-
ele1nontB, with the addition Of sulphur, phoa-
plor,lH, limo, potash, salt, and few other or
ganic aubstancos all the wonderful forlnh Of tho
| animal and vegetable world Rre constructed. We
know nothing certain Of the inner chemical pro-
cess which talcs place during this construction,
but tho outor conditions under Which it IL carried
Oh have boon pretty accurately determined.
The greator part OF tic animal and human
body consists OF nitrogenorls aud sulphurons. Or
the uo-callel nlbuminous substances. II tho
| animal body il to continue III u state OF growth
and existence, these RubHtancen must bo supplied
to 1t. Milk il tho first food Of young mahmalia,
aud consists Of substances wllleh contribute to
THUR nourishmont and growth. MotAer-lnilk
must, therefore, ba considered us tho
TRUE TyrE AND MODEL
OF all nutrimeutB. Nun, the kernels Of grain
el,ow, in the combination of their various con-
ntilnents, 80 ahtoniehiug similarity to animal
milk. It noilriBlloB u the saulo manner ns milk
aud tho constituents Of tho two aro perfectly
analogous A1au requires for his nourislnont,
aboyn all, nitlogeu0nH substances, aud for tho
maintenance Of respiration anl warmth, noh-
ntrugcnuua substances; hs grain aud nlAty otler
plnnth, as vol aa animal food, contaln these
| Hnbstnuces in All eminent tlDgroe, 1t IL evident
that ilatinct has evor pointed lim to coseg1n, aa
tho gluten Ia rich in heterogeneous and tho starch
III no1l-nltrogenoaa hubatances. 1he seeda ot CO.
reals coutasn soyen parss OF starch, two Of nitro
zen, bosl!sos aono gum and sugar. by broalin:
them III tho mill, bran III fornoi Of the sholl md
ttlo parts directly underneath this. whtn tho
! inner white lnaBn yields flour. Tho gluten III
tonKher, Aia, therefore, more difficult to pull
yerlze. ttInn tho starch. This explains Why tho
flne white Hour resulting from repeated sitting
or noititlH conta!1ls mAp Htarch and little gluten,
while tho COARSE dark Graham Hour s rich in
Gsuien.
In making bEoau,
iEAKr on BusE OTHER FEnMENr1na supsrAHoE
iB added to tile Hour In cullsottliu,,eo uutuler
OF air hnbhlon aro developed III tho dough. OF \
Bour, unpleasant odor. This otor ariueH from,
| tho lactic acid into which tho sacuharuo mattor
has been couvortot Later, tho odor Of tho
dough becomes pleasant aud vlEoua, for a por-
tion Of tho starch las boen converted uto sugur.
and this intn spirits Ut Wine and carbono acid.
Al soon ~ tile proiar BtaCo OF foruei,fation haa