The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-02-26
Farm and Garden Interests

shops contain about as many kinds Of ssu-
sage as our drug stores do OF patent meol-
cines, and when they say sausage is too
soft they speak whereof they do know.
They have not only discovered that corn
produces soft pork. but they have con-
Quoted experiments, and are now able to
tell us just the reason for its production
that is, because II contains such a high
percentage of LIQUID fat, or oil.
The Germans are now substituting other
grains and foodstuff for American corn, so
far as possible, In feeding hogs. We still
supply m with about 100000 BUSH
els Of corn annually. not because they pre-
fer IL, but simply because IL is the cheapest
foodstuff they can obtain. Even in Canada
is found a similar state of affairs. Not
that the Canadians themselves object so
much to soft bacon and sausage, but they
furnish pork for the British market, and
1t seems that the British people have about
the same notions regarding soft pork as
the Germans. and Canadians nave not
only learned that soft pork brings a lower
price in the British market, but. they. too,
have conducted elaborate and exhaustive
experiments Qor our benefit, which con-
firm the results obtained in Germany and
seem to show conclusively that soft pork
is produced by feeding corn, and that the
cause is the high percentage of oil which
the corn contains. They, too. are substi-
tuting, so far as possible, other grains,
such as barley and rye. for our American
corn for pork production.
But still other objections have been made
10 the present composition of corn. I'M
mense quantities of this grain are used for
the manufacture of starch, glucose syrup
and the alcohol used in the arts and
sciences, besides that which is used to
make various kinds of liquors. For all of
these purposes only the carbohydrates can
be used. The protein is considered as an
impurity and at best becomes a by-product
Of lower value than the starch or other
chief products. Formerly for all these in
dustries the oil in corn was Objectionable,
and in some of them IL is still a waste
product. In the starch and glucose fac
tories methods have been adopted by which
the oil OF corn can be separated in a very
pure form; and as this oil is worth more
per pound than either starch or glucose,
the manufacturers now want corn with as
high a percentage of oil as possible, as
may be seen from the following extract
from a recent publication of a glucose COM
pany:
Assuming that the average crop of corn
produced in Illinois amounts to 200, 000, 900
bushels annually, and that so per cent. Of
tins yield never leaves the farm, this State
would produce a corn surplus of 40, 1000 900
bushels every twelve months.
During the month of October, 1899, this
company ground 100000 bushels OF corn
in its three Illinois factories, for which it
paid approximately 1852, 900. 1t is safe TO
assume that rs TO 50 per cent. of this guam
tity was grown on Illinois farms. II these
statistics are correct. the three factories
operated by this company, located at Chi
cago, Peoria and Rockford, respectively,
consumed nearly half of last years sur
plus of Illinois corn.
"A bushel of ordinary corn, weighing
ffty-SiX pounds, contains about four and
one-half pounds of germ. thirty-six pounds
of dry starch, seven pounds of gluten and
five pounds of bran or hull, the remainder
In weight being made up in water. soluble
matter, etc. The value of the germ lies in
the fact that 1t contains over 40 per cent.
of corn oil, worth say five cents per pound.
while the starch is worth ~ cents, the
gluten ! cent, and the hull about - cent
per pound. II can ready be seen that a
variety OF corn containing, say, one pound
more oil per bushel would be in large de-
mand. Farmers throughout the country
would do well to communicate with their
respective agricultural experiment stations
and secure their corporations along these
| lines"