The Brunswick news. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 1901-1903, 1902-11-23
NEW FOOD PLANTS.
Need Only Scientific Cultivation to Make
Them Delicious

Lneln DeiiciOuS.
According to consular report from
Edward H. Thompson, who is sta
toned at Progreso, the gardens and
fields of Yucatan are filed with succu-
lent vegetables and odorous herbs I'M
( known to the outer weld. In the cul-
| tivated fields. at the proper seasons,
are grown classes of Indian corn.
! beans, squashes and tubers for which
we have no name. for the reason that
we have never seen or heard OF them.
| The forests and jungles contain fruits
that excellent even in their wild state,
could be made delicious by scientific
care and cultivation. There are half
a score Of wild fruits that offer more
promising results than did the bitter
Wild almond, the progenitor of the
peach.
The most important Of the large &C.
reals is the maize Of the AIcxicans-
the Indian corn of the Americans and
the kim of the Mayas Of Yucatan.
| Like several other vegetable products.
its origin as a cultivated plant is en-
veloped in obscurity, the Wild plant
from which it was evolved rot yet
having been identified Many believe
that the cultivated plant WAS born
somewhere between Yucatan and the
| tablc-land of Mexico. The mother
plant was probably grass, and the
new grain spread to all sections, each
! one giving it certain characteristics
until the varieties grown in Tie north
hardly seem related to those of the
southern lands. Yucatan has six varie-
ties Of this grain, ard the Maya In
dian reverentially speaks of it as the
grace of God" The natives Of Yuca-
tan prefer the native corn to that i'm
ported from the United States and
will cheerfuiiy pay the higher price
demanded in times Of scarcity They
state that our method OF kiln drying
Injuries the grain. They allow the
grain to harden and dry slowly in the
ear upon the stalk
! The plant or rather the running vine,
known as the macal box (makal bosh),
produces 4 tuberOus root of great np-
tritiye value. Entire families have
lived upon this root for weeks at a time
and We're healthy and well nourished.
! This plant is very productive. About
the middle of May the green shoots
| first appear above the earth They
grow rapidly, and in November are
ready to be dug. The tuber is about
the size OF large Irish potato and is
Of a purplish color, like a certain class
of sweet potato 1t can be cooked in
the same way as the sweet potato. The
/ plant is hardy. A long drouth may
cause the vine 10 wither. but with the
/ lightest rain 1t springs up anew. The
roots left in the ground as too small
for food propagate the plant, and each
4 year the yield increases. 1t seems to
be a kind of native yam it grows in
almost any Kind of moderately rich
soil and when cultivated intelligeutly
should be Of certain value as a food
plant.
The xmakin macal Cshmakeen ma
kaD, like the macal. box. appears in
May and is gathered in November, but
| it yields only one or two tubers to the
4 plant. These however are or large
| size, resembling enormous Irish pota.
toes, have seen four of these great
roots fill bushel basket The in
terror is white and seems TO be nearly
pure starch. 1t is planted as we set
out potatoes, The plants grow close
together and, while l have no exact
! figures. the yield per acre should be
phenomenal, so far as weight Of prod.
net is concerned.
Xmehen chilean (Shmehen chi kan
seems to be a kind Of artichoke, weigh
ing when mature about a pound. The
plants are running vines, rarely more
than n yard long. An acre will yield
an immense crop under favorable con
ditions. The plant sown in August,
can be gathered in November.
Nnuc chi-can is a larger root. weigh.
ing when mature about three pounds.
1t is hardy plant and produces wei.
Both of these roots are eaten roasted
or boiled, and many like them raw