Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1894-10-25
HOW TO STORE CORN.


New and Valuable Ideas Advanced by
Jonathan PeriAm.
Jonathan Periam, q well-known au.
thority on agricultural topics, makes
some valuable suggestions about the
care Of corn between the times of har-
vest and consumption. He thinks the
cereal would be far more attractive to
Europeans if offered to them in better
shape, and that the average American
consumer would like food prepared
from corn much better were it not for.
the fact that it is allowed to become
musty, soured or bitter as to the germ.
which destroys its integrity as food
grain. He boldly advances the state
ment that, one year with another, In
dian corn kept in wide cribs through the
winter and subsequently in the COM
mercial elevators is not In a proper con-
dition to be used for human food, nor is
it in the best state for the fattening
of live stock. 1t is not strange that Eu-
ropeans decline to use it as food when
the ordinary hog will refuse to touch
corn a year old if laid side by side with
a sufficient quantity OF newly plucked'
corn taken directly from the fields Of
the west in October. If the corn could
be carried to Europe in its perfect
state the people of that part of the
world would take kindly to it as a
precious food
Ear corn, kept in the ordinary way
in the wide cribs Of the west. heats in
the win ter or early spring. II acquires
bitter or musty taste while on the
cob, and when shelled the chemical
process thus sta rted goes steadily for
ward in the ordinary elevator, even if
the airing has been fairly carried on.
Corn that will terminate promptly
neither has been heated in the crib
nor has the germ been severely frozen.
Seedsmen compass this by plucking
the corn when just ripe. before freez-
ing weather, and drying it artificial
ly. The Indians knew how to ac-
complish this in better way. They
selected the best ears and placed them
in holes in the ground, points down
ward. without removing the husk. the
holes having a capacity of about two
bushels each, and being lined with
rushes if necessary to dryness. The
deposit was mounded over with earth.
and the seeds never failed to grow
promptly when planted. The secret of
the process was complete exclusion
from the air.
Mr. Periam says when corn once has
got out of condition it cannot be re-
stored to soundness. It will make
musty flour and meal in spite of
sulphuring and polishing, which may
deceive the superficial observer but not
the chemist.
He advocates the building of store
houses in which corn and other food
products could be kept in alright
chambers, and does not believe it
would cost more than store room con-
structed on the present wasteful plan.
The principle used in canning fruits
and vegeta bles-exclusion of the air
might be extended in a more simple
way to the cereals through storage
elevators. When this is done we may
have pure materials in the cereals
used for human sustenance, and hui
man ingenuity will find the means OF
doing this economically. Both do
nestle and foreign consumers would
pay more for the flour and meal from
grain thus kept than for what is made
from grain that is musty, smutty, mil
dewed, sweated or infested with
weevil. such as too often comes from
our present system of warehouse stor-
age. 1t is certain that all the cereals
are far better as food if containing
normal moisture of about Is per cent.
than after the moisture has been arti-
fcially eliminated by kiln drying OF
other manipulation.-C Tribune.