The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1914-03-20
C0RNHUSKS Are
FAST BECOMING
OF REAL VALUE
mot Worth Shueks" Doesn't
Mean Now What II Did
Several Years Ago
HOT TAMALE MEN WANT
THOUSANDS OF BALES
Lunch Wagon Men Even Have
Trouble in Getting Enough
to Meet Their Demands

u . farmer were asked to name the
thing Of least value that IL produced
under cultivation ON his farm. ne
probably would answer corn husks.
& y true that stock, hard driven for
winter forage. sometimes eat them,
end In primitive days they sometimes
served 90 stunning for bed mattresses,
but comparatively few agrtculturtsts
these days make any systematic EFFORT
% utilize them. 1T ain't worth
ohucls" has been rural saying in
d1cative Of the zero In value. When
The Prodigal Son was reduced to eat
ing husks with the hogs. he and the
AosR probably considered they were on
10 miShty unsatisfactory diet. Another
hysproduct Of f1eld corn-the cob--is
worth something ~ raw material Tor
cob pipes. the manufacture OF the
~1elssouri meerschaum" annually con-
Stunning millions. but the husks ordi-
nArily 60 to waste.
Nov comes the Mexican ':hot t.
1alo* man and raises the despised
corn husk to q dignified place a. an
aSt1c1o Of commerce. Tamales, -
everyone knows, are not tamales un.
looo compounds OF c0rn-meal. pepper
end meat are inclosed In corn husk
wEappers, @ the traflic In that some
What peculiar food product IL 80 ex-
tonsive that enormous quantities OF
~husks" are required for wrappers.
The big packing companies that turn
cut millions Of packages Of canned Ia
males each year consume tons OF the
hualks, and thousands of lunch stands
and wagons and itinerant hot tamale
poddlers manufacture their own wares
must be supplied with the husk cas-
inns II the farmers generally only
knew Il, there Is something resembling
= corn husk famine right now, and a
cow enterprising growers have made
SENS easy money marketing the
oAuOkings from their corncribs.
The T. Lee Adams Seed Co.. In Kan
60 City, now has half q carload OF
baled corn husks stored In Its base
ment awaiting the orders Of tamale
1akers, and the company ut times has
X nnt1oad or more In stock. This par
tfonlor supply comes from two or
th.6o farmers In the vicinity OF Kan
- CITY who have been smart enough
- discover q market for . product
16emofly permitted to 60 to waste.
IT, packing houses have buyers who
oou1Tnot with farmers for supplies to
- loaiyered ct intervals az needed.
\ 4ho price paid the farmers for corn
HIT wrappers for tamales II approx
1nt0ly q : hundred pounds. but 1t II
10 growers fault that they do not re-
eo3v0 more. Az delivered to the Adams
o.. for example. the husks come IN
Go1oo OF a. pounds each, In which there
- much waste. These, assorted and
Wndo into neat packages Of one pound
0nch. have been retailed by the seed
Oomhnny for as much as 20 cents .
pound. or $40 a hundred. And II
nieht surprise even an experienced
ags1culturist to see how few corn
hnAlu are required to weigh hundred
pounds. II the growers used more
care IN selecting the husks and pre-
pairing them for market, the product
would higher wholesale
price.
The farmer who markets his corn
husks a. q by-product OF the grain
chor does not shuck his corn % he
gnthers It. He snaps the ears from
TIE stalks, husks and all, and cribs
fhem until he has leisure to give them
further attention. Then on some
geofmy day when he has time to spare,
II, makes up q few bales Of tamale
wrappers. To remove the husks from
TIE ear he makes an opening in the
outer covering at the butt OF the ear
ma with knife sewers the stem close
- the corn. so released, the ear slips
nom the husk, which IL packed. with
tie stem attached. for delivery. For
the packing the farmer uses . deep,'
narrow box or form, about 80 inches
- length, 20 In depth and eight IN
width. open at the top. A piece OF
vire from a hay bale 10 laid inside
tho box. and the husks are laid across
the wire, tips In and overlapping, I'M
III the box is packed full. when the
v1re n drawn tight, the ends twisted.
ana the bale drawn forth complete.
10 attempt at sorting 10 made. and as
q consequence many discolored. split
ma ragged shucks--worthless for "a
nnle wrappers--go into the bales. II
~ famale-maker buys his husks from
- dealer in the original bale he must
s1nnd the loss Of waste material, ana
- nays much less for them than ne
1ooS when the husks are sorted ana
1aaAe mn In smaller packages.
ssThere u no reason why . few farm
- IN the vicinity OF cities should not
S1oke Q good thing from selling select
~ corn huSks direct 70 lunch STANDS,
G1slI restaurants and tamale pea.
Onru.~ buyer for the Adams Co SAID
= 0sv days ago. I'VE have received
= oents . pound for small packages,
~ that runs into money pretty fast.
- e : hundred--@S0 = TOMS
1rs14v food money for corn huslks. Just
- thsre Il, no particularly lively de-
SSn6 for husks. though the supply 10
0Nor1 because high prices for other
11nfer1aIs used in tAmale-making have
56S0ned their production.
SThe chile peppers that are used -
ooooouing all come from MEXICO. ana
- var down there has cut down the
Sh1umeists and caused rise In prices.
xmous the packers that turn out
anNned tamales the Armour company
= Ynpsas City alone consumer moro
~ 10000 pounds Of corn husks an
SSnIlv. Their supplies come from con-
trn0tors. who 20 into the country, pro
enc the husks "in the rough" SORT
80 hale them and deliver them %
~ packing house.
5000 Of the men We contract with
are expert corn-huskers. buyer TOT
Axmour's said recently, "and they ~
enlvo the husks in return for labor.
or or more Of them may call On .
Snfmer ana .ofEer to shuck his corn
fPoo q charge n he viii give them