Catoctin clarion., 1917-09-27

DRY and Grind at Home and
Know the Delicious Nutlike
Flavor of New Corn Meal. y

Why eat last years corn Whlle
harvesting this years? Why lose
the very best there is in corn by not
using it when it is fresh, clean and
sweet? These queries, by the United
States Department OF Agriculture,
are directed at those who have always
eaten old degermed corn, and have
never known the delicious nutlike
flavor of new corn meal. In some
States, says a corn expert OF the de-
partment, this flavor is unknown or
is merely matter of memory with
the old settlers.
For less than SIS a hand mill and
sieves capable of making excellent
meal can be bought, and for less than
than $25 may be purchased a mill
large enough for community. 1T
be installed to be run by water, wind,
gasoline, or other local power.
Instead of merely eating more corn
as a necessary war measure, it is
urged that Americans should appre-
ciate and exercise the privilege OF eat
ing better corn. Instead of degerm-
ing corn to prevent its spoilage, and
instead of bleaching and securing it
to remove odors and impurities, it
might better be eaten while it is still
fresh, pure, and sweet. To have this
privilege the meal must be ground
locally from new corn. Yet pratic-
ally all of the commercial meal OF
the Northern and Western States dur
ing the fall months when this new
corn is readily available is the pro-
duct of old degermed commercial
corn. In November some of the crop
is dry enough to leave the farms, and
the meal from this corn does not get
back to the farmers until December
or later.
Squirrels, coons, dogs, and other
animals relish new corn and even re-
fuse to eat old corn unless compelled
by hunger. Rats and mice usually
eat only the germ-the richest and
best part of the kernel-and leave
the rest. This germ, highest in flavor
and food value, is not available to
man in the ordinary corn meal OF
commerce. In that form one is like
ly to get stale corn, from which rats
and mice have eaten the choicest
part, and degerming machines have
removed the rest to prevent further
spelling. "Why," asks the special
list, should we make our corn pro-
ducts so poor that they can not spoil?
Why pay the freight both ways, and
several commissions, only to get corn
meal with percent of its oil remov-
ed, when home grinding would give
more wholesome and palatable pro-
duct at less cost?"
The excellence of this new corn
meal has long been-but wrongly
ascribed to waterpower and burr
stone grinding. The method OF
grinding has nothing to do with it.
The meal is good because it is fresh
and from the new whole grain. 1t
merely happens that in parts of the
South where the people know and ap'
preciate the good quality of this
fresh, sweet meal, it is ground large
ly in the waterwheel mills using the
the old fashioned mill stones. As
soon as the corn is ripe it is dried in
the sun and then used while it is
fresh and clean. In the commercial
meals the germs have been removed
because the oil they contain is likely
to become rancid after storage, and
this tends to spoil the whole product.
Americans, it is urged, are under
obligation to eat more corn, because
of starving nations and a world scar
city of wheat; yet Americans are eat
ing less corn than they ate years ago.
Corn producing countries are the ones
that should eat it, because it is at its
best when it has not been transport
ed long distances. For all of these
reasons. the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture suggests that
American families return to the sim
pie life ideal and make their own
corn meal and hominy at home dur.
ing the fall and winter months.