The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-27
Two Bushels Yearly for Every
 Person on Earth
SENDING IT TO EUROPE
Foreigners Had to Be Educated to the Value of Corn as Food Product. The Possibilities of
 the Future.
BY FREDERIC j. HAsKIN.

The discovery of America included the finding of the great staple-corn. How prominent factor in commerce. the new found grain was to become was not dreamed of by Columbus when he first saw "mahiz' growing in the West In- dies, by Cartier, when he visited Hook elaga, now Montreal. and found the set tlement, surrounded by green fields of ''mondamin," nor by the English colon st who first cultivated 1t at Jamestown. James G. Blaine once called corn the spinal column of American agriculture" The lmmeusity of the crop cannot be easily appreciated, even when we learn that the United States tills cornflelds ag gregating an area greater than that of the German empire. and produces an- nually 3,O0O,O000Oo bushels, two bushels for each man, woman and child on earth. To understand what billions of bushels means comparisons are necessary. Tho six greatest corn states are Indiana, It. lnois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and Ne- braska. They constitute the "corn patch" and produce annually 109 bushels for each of the 100000 inhabitants within their boundaries In wagons each containing forty bushels of shelled corn, the "corn patch" crop would make wagon train 154S79 miles long, beltng the earth six times with 4000 miles of wagons to spare. When these six states grow eleven ears of corn where they grew ten the year be- fore. the increase means $44,0Oo0O0 in cash. Iowa alone has produced crop in one year equal in value to the annual produce of gold, silver and lead in the United States, or more than the net earn ings of all of the national banks.
 The origin of Indian corn Is lost in the mists of antiquity. Darwin found an ear reposing in a metal vessel eightyfive feet below the present surface of the soil in Peru. Others have been found with num- mics in the tombs of the 1ncas. Indians in Mexico had a goddess, Cinteotl, corre- spending to the Greek goddess Ceres, to whom sun virgins sacrificed corn cakes North American Indians, said that corn was a direct gift from the Great Spirit. A young warrior fasting in the wilderness rayed for gift from the Master of Life IT his people. A spirit in the form of beautiful young man garbed in glisten-
  response to his prayer and they wres- l each morning for three days.
 'pon the fourth day the spirit predict victory for the warrior, and bade him ip him of his robes and bury him In soft earth, returning from time to Ye to keep the weeds from springing up Is the warrior did, and in time the mes of the spirits headdress shot from earth. and gradually stalks of corn CIV and matured The Indians held Q eat feast in celebration of the gift and med the grain "Mondamin the spirits ain. Tho famous French botanist, Can Ile,' says that the corn plant originated America. and was probably always a lin. Nature did not provide well for It's ntnued existence since the ear, falling the ground, retains the grains so tight that rodents are likely to eat them ore they have an opportunity to put. His theory is that some wandering age discovered that the grain was ed- and thus saved the plant from ex- lniation centuries before the discovery America by white men.
 wenty years ago when corn was sell for 23 cents and many farmers on plains found it more economical to it for fuel than to market it, att pts were made to introduce 1t as hu- food in Europe Representative tt of New York offered a bill in ress appropriating s100,o00 for an ex- at Paris. but the bill failed, and lnds for the corn exhibit were small. theless, Charles J. Murphy. agricu- missioner in Npbra ska. DreSi1nd he exhibit, demonstrating the cook. cornbread and distributing pamph-
 all languages.
 ve the International Congress of
 in Paris, during the exposition,
 lrphy delivered an exhaustive ad-
 upon the delights of cornpone
 ohnny cake, Boston brown bread.
 akes, corn fritters. corn waffes,
 l. corn pudding and other Ameri-
 acies unknown in Europe Urg-
 the last of interest in the Ameri-
 was due to ignorance, he quoted
 uished English traveller, who as-
 at Americans made a palatable
 corn meal called "buckw'heat
 Ie established corn kitchens Tn
 ties in Europe and England and
 bread off the stove at nominal
 rtly at his own expense, in au
 demonstrate to Europeans that ffered substitute for the peas
 black bread. more deliciously
 an the white bread of the rich.
 ed out the ruddy American
 mlk-fed boy. and the hardy
 ominy eating American of ma
 as proof of the healthfulntss
 'oducts. He declared that if
 i'd learn to eat corn meal mil
 poor would be benehted and
 ew market for an American
 uld rebuild our merchant ma
 tlso predicted that when the t nal was completed America
 at the ports of China and
 bstitute for rice at half the
 t staple and Of twice it's food
 result of MT. Murphy's nlis-
 k corn bread Is still called
 ead' in some of the European
 ears ago we exported only
 mt of our corn. We export