The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1907-11-09


III commerce the new-found grain wa
TO become was not dreamed OF by Co
i lumbus when he first saw ''mahiZ
| growing in the West Indies; by Car
| TIER, when he visited Hochelaga, nov
montreal, and found the settlement
surrounded by green fields c. "monda
min; nor by the English colonlst>
VINO first cultivated it at jamestown
James q. Blaine once called corn the
spinal column of American agrlcui
ture. The immensely of the crop can
not be easily appreciated, even when
We learn that the United States tills
corn helds aggregating an area great
er than that of the German Empire
ana produces annually 100000 bush
els, two bushels for each man, woman
and child on earth.
To understand what billions OF
bushels means comparisons are neces-
sary. The six great corn states
are Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri,
Kansas and Nebraska They constitute
the corn patch" and produce annually
100 bushels for each OF the 10000, 900
inhabitants within their boundaries.
IN wagons, each containing forty
bushels OF shelled corn the corn
patch crop would make a wagon train
1879 miles long. betting the earth six
times, with 1000 miles of wagons to
spare. When these six states grow
eleven ears OF corn where they grew
ten the year before, the increase means
100000 in cash. Iowa alone has
produced a crop in one year equal in
value to the annual product of gold,
silver and lead in the United States, or
more than the net earnings Of all OF
the national banks.
The origin Of Indian corn is los.
IN the mists Of antiquity. Darwin
found an ear reposing in a metal YES
sci eighty-five feet below the present
surface of the soil in Peru. Others
nave been found with mummies in
the tombs of the IncaS. Indians in
Mexico had goddess, Cinteotl. corre-
spending to the Greek Goddess Ceres,
to whom the sun virgins sacrificed
corn cakes. North American Indians
said that corn was a direct gift from
the Great Spirit. A young warrior
tasting in the wilderness. prayed for
gift from the Master of Life for his
people. A spirit in the form of a
beautiful young man, CARRIED in glisten-
ng green, with flowing plumes. de-
'cended in response to his prayer ami
hey wrestled each morning for three
lays.
Upon the fourth day the spirit pre-
iicted victory for the warrior and
'ade him strip him of his robes and |
Jury him in the soft earth, returning
rom time to time to keep the weeds |
rom spring up. This the warrior |
lid, and in time the plumes of the |
pirit's head dress soht from the earth |
nd gradually stalks of corn grew and
The Indians held a great
east In celebration of the gift and
AIMED the grain "Mondamin," the spir-
is grain. Nature did not provide
'ell for its continued existence, since
he ear falling to the ground retains
be grains SO tightly that rodents are
kelly to eat them before they have
n opportunity to sprout. His theory
) that some wandering savage dis
overed that the grain was edible, and
nus saved the plant from extermina-
on centuries before the discovery of
merica by white men.
Twenty years ago when corn was
cling for 90 cents and many farm
rs on the plains e)und it more eco.
0mical to burn it for fuel than to
arket it, attempts were made TO in
oduce it as human food in Europe
representative Hewitt, of New York,
fered bill in congress appropriatiny
Loo, 900 for an exhibit at Paris, but
le bill failed and funds for the corn
ihibit were small. Nevertheless
harles J. Murphy, Agricultural
in Nebraska presided
,er the exhibit, demonstrating the
,oking of corn-bread and distributing
,mphlets in all languages
Millers in Paris during the ex-
,sition, Mr.. Murphy delivered an ex-
lustive address upon the delights OF
I'm pone, samp. johnny cake, Boston
own bread, griddle cakes, corn fritz
rs, corn wafles, succotash. corn pud-
ng and other American delicacies I'M
Town in Europe. Urging that the
ok of interest in the American food
as due to ignorance, he quoted dis
lguished traveller who asserted that
nericans made a palatable food
ON corn meal called ''buckwheat
kes." He established corn kitchens {
various cities in Europe and England
d sold corn bread off the stove at
minal prices, partly at his own ex-