The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1910-10-08
IT'S INFINITE USES AND
HOW IT IS GRADED
Corn Crop OF United States For One
year Amounts to Two And One-HaIf
Billion BusheIs.-Would Make Train
$4,000 Miles Long.

mississippi has raised the greatest
corn crop OF its history this year. and
the yield and acreage in South Missis-
sippi has been particularly large. This
IS simply beginning and the outlook
ID Ihat IN the course of the next ten
years Mississippi will rank well-up
with the states Of the great corn belt.
Some interesting facts regarding the
history, culture and many uses of
corn are told by Beverly T. Galloway,
Cnlef of the U. S. Bureau Of Plant
culture in The Youths Companion:
Nearly every nation has some espe-
clal plant or crop upon which hinge
many Vital things connected with that
nations progress and prosperity. Rice
has for centuries been the mainstay
of the millions of India and China,
wheat has fed other countries, and in
more limited way oats have proved
the staff of life in Scotland and GER
tain parts of Europe.
Long before Columbus set sail on
his eyentful voyage, in all probability
long ages before the Romans extend
ed their conquest to the British Isles,
Indian corn had played an important
part in the wars, wanderings and life
of the people of South, Central and
North America.
Where the corn plant came from is
a mystery no man has solved. Next
co, or some other of the Central
American countries, seems to be its
home. There are found today in
those regions types of corn grown by
the Indians differing in no essential
respect from those which the Span
iards discovered and described more
than three centuries ago. The corn
has not changed, nor have the habits
and agricultural practices Of the peo-
pie changed in all this time.
Corn is now grown the world over,
in many countries. Its development
and utilization have played an impor-
tant part in all our progress.
Year by year the output is growing
greater: at the present time it consti-
tutes by far the greatest single crop
in the world The yield now reaches,
in round numbers, about four billion
bushels
1t is difficult to grasp the meaning
of this enormous quantity of grain.
If we could construct a bin one hun
bred feet square at the ground and
carry it to height sufficient to hold
the worlds crop of shelled corn, the
bin would extend ninety miles into
the air. If, on the other hand the
corn in the cob should be stacked the
stack being twenty feet vide on the
ground and ten feet high, the length
of such a stack would be more than
eight thousand seven hundred miles.
Ears of corn vary in length; probably
a fair average would be ten inches.
IF the crop of the world in ears could
he brought together and the ears
nIaced end to end, we should have a
string of corn more than sixty million
miles long. or two thousand five hun
dred times round the earth.
The corn-crop of the United States
for one year amounts to two and one
half billion bushels. This, II loaueu
nm ears. each car containing seven
hundred bushels, would make tram
more than twenty-five thousand miles
long It requires about one hunureu
million acres of land to grow all tnlS
corn, which directly and indirecOS
feeds and supports more than one
fourth of our people.
For fifty years the geographical cen
ter of corn production has been NOV
ing in a southwesterly directlon' .ne
last records showing it fifty-four miles
southwest of Springfield, Illinois Inc