The Batesburg advocate. [volume] (Batesburg, S.C.) 1901-1911, 1901-08-21
USES OF CORN.
Plant That Is Becoming More
Valuable.
SIDE PRODUCTS OF PLANT.
The Government Viking Expsri.
ments With tho Plant t. In
crease its Yield. Means
Much to the South.

Most persons probably imagine that
about the only products from corn are
hominy, meal and whisky. The pro-
ducts OF the corn plant are almost as
numerous and varied IS those of the
cotton plant. An exhibit Of the asri-
cultural department in Washington
shows that In case Of necessity corn
could be depended upon for food.
clotning and strong drink, and a mum.
Der OF articles of virtue aud luxury be-
sides. a chemist of the department.
has gone SO fer as to produce from corn
substitute for rubber which csppot be
told by an inezpert person from the
genuine article. 1t looks like rubber
from Brazil, feels like it, acts like il
+ and has all of the characteristic proper
ties Of it.
90 far the invention has not been
made "osmmeroially practicable, tn a.
is, the process costs too much to make
the corn rubber = competitor of the
real rubber. 1t is to be expected how
ever, that the time will come when
rubber for tires will be grown in corn
fields.
Aoother article of especial interest
IN the Agricultural departments exhib-
1t is corn oil. This is likely to come
more or less into competition with cot
ton seed oil Of the higher grades. The
corn oil is said to look precisely like
olive oil to taste like it, and to be good
for any use in which olive oil is en-
ployed
Only the most expert can distin-
gulsh corn oil from the highest g,ade
OF Italian olive oil. The product has
been turned TO commercial account and
already large qusnti'les of the oil are
sold.
There arc some pretty and lustrous,
though not very strong, cloths from
corn fibre shown. There are also hats,
baskets, etc., made Of the fibre. No
great store, however, is set upon the
possibilities In the line of paper max
ing. A merohsntable quality OF pa-
per has been made from 1t, and experi-
ments with it are being continued.
The pith of the corn stalk as we have
previously noted is being uss,I1;Yn, large
quantities in making ceYInIos. Nor
packing the sides of wazships. These
are Just law of the products of -
corn plant. One of the officials of q tlu
Agricultural department is au.hofity
for the statement that sll told there are
not far from one hundred products to
be had from corn.
lt will interest farmers to know that
the department is conducting investiga-
tions and experiments with view to
largely increasing, if not doubling, the
production Of corn, without any in
crease In expense of cultivation or of
acreage. 1t is hoped this can be ao-
complished by system of selection Of
corn for planting is said to be most
important matter. Probably 999 farm
ers out of every 1000 make their ssleo-
tlous of ears after corn is in the barn.
This is said to be wrong. This selec-
tion should be made in the field, the
health, vigor and strength of the stalk
being taken into account.
BY carefully selecting the seed corn
from the stalks in autumn, considers-
bly, increased yield it is said may be
secured, while By CROSS breeding the
oest specimens the nitiogen contents of
the corn will be increased. The de-
partment has now produced several
thousand hybrids. Within the next
year T two it hopes to evolve a corn
which with propor cultivation and fer.
tIlizAtion will produce 100 bushels to
the sore on land that now brings forty
to fifty bushels.