Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1886-12-22
Indian Corn.

recently, at the University college, OF
London, the cereals formed the subject
upon which learned lecturer discoursed,
giving to corn large share of attention.
In 40 country has corn ever attained to
higher popularity than in Virginia both for
its general qualities and as a part of our
brsad-supply, and it may interest some of
our readers to learn from new authority the
backwardness to follow the example of
their younger brethren, Of the same origin,
by the people of the old country, as well as
to read condensed and interesting sketch
of maize history as it was delivered at the
time referred to. OF corn the lecturer re-
marked-"It is highly productive plant,
yielding from 800 to 400 per cent, and,
cooked in American style, it furnishes a
nutritive and tasty dish, but it has not be-
come popular in Europe. The efforts made
to introduce it as an article of diet amongst
the people of Europe, tried when -four was
high, have all failed. The Americans have
such immense crops of it, that they feed
their hogs with it, and use it up in all kinds
of ways. 1t is essentially an American
plant, being quite unknown in Europe
before the days of Columbus. He sailed
away to find the Indies, and thought the
islands he discovered really a part Of the
East Indies, so he called this plant Indian
corn, misnomer it carries to this day,
though occasionally miscalled in some cases
Turkish wheat. At the time of the dis
covery of America, maize was one of the
staples of agriculture from the La Plate to
the United States. 1t had names in all
languages the natives planted it around
their temporary dwellings when they did
not form a fixed population. The burial
mounds of the natives of Nerth America,
who preceded those of our day, the tombs
of the Incus, the Catacombs of Peru, con-
tain the grains of maize, just as the tombs
of ancient Egypt contain grains Of barley,
wheat and millet. In Mexico goddess
who bore a name derived from that of
maize answered to the Ceres of the Greeks,
for the first fruits of the maize harvest
were offered to her, as the first fruits OF our
cereals were offered to the Greek Goddess.
At Cuzco, the Virgin of the sun offered
sacrifices of bread made from Indian corr.
The cultivation of the Incus was more re-
cent. in all probability, than that Of Egypt
and China, still it carries the history of the
plant some distance into the past. While
maize owes its introduction into the Old
World to Columbus, it is now raised in all
tropical and sub-tropical climates. owing to
its ready adaptability to new conditions
No other cereal, except rice, perhaps, is SO
generally cultivated, reaching as 1t does
from 400 North to AGO South latitude. It
comes next to wheat and rice for the
amount of nutritive matter it contains, and
ripens when most other cereals have been
harvested"
From the force of example and persistent
adherence to cid customs, the people of the
Old World ale very slow to learn the many
valuable agencies coin contributes to the
good living of man ard beast and fowls
A writer has said that foreigners, Cd COM
ing to this country, are puzzled to know
what it is that gives the tenderloin-steak
and the spare-rib their peculiar richness
They little think this richness comes from
our corn-felds, nor do they know any
thing of our bread as it is made in all
It's varieties, and that it should form part
Of the new feast they enjoy in the elegance
of the meats as they are produced in the
land of corn. An "Old Virginia" enume-
ration of the different styles, comprising
twenty-five or more, of serving corn for
bread would be to them bill of fire royal
in its makeup.
In 1889, Tennessee was the greatest corn
producing State. In 1S49 Ohio took the
lead, and in 1859 Illinois was first, and we
believe still retains that distinction. In
1889, the entire crop in the United States
was 377, 431, STA bushels. 1t is now con-
siderably over two billions. The average
number of acres cultivated in corn in Vir-
ginia is about 2, 200, 900, yielding about 49,
600, 900 bushels, averaging IA bushels to
the acre. In Augusta ceunty, the average
cultivation is about so, 900 acres, producing
about 500, 900, and averaging % bushels to
the acre. The average production in Au-
gusta is bushels more than that of the
State, and more than that of the United
States, and only 10 below the most prolific
sections of new Western lands.