Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1921-02-26

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what they were last year, and many
farmers have harvested their corr
at q loss. In view Of these facts
a young Illinois farmer suggested
the gift corn project, which ha.
grown to such proportions. The
offer was made to the committees
for relief in China and the neal
east. They considered the diff.
culties of transportation and de.
cided to try to overcome them by
obtaining donations Of money and
help. Some money has already been
collected, and trainmen have Of
Tered their services free in carry
ing the grain across country.
With this much of the ways and
means problem worked out the
corn is beginning to be collected
at railroad centers and the first
cargo has been shipped to Constan-
tinople. Shipping corn is much
more complicated business than
shipping wheat. There is about
IL per cent water in corn, and the
moisture in the grain is therefore
apt to cause mold in the course Of
lengthy transportation. Damage
due to moisture has frequently
been the cause of complaint in the
comparatively small shipments of
corn which we have sent to Eu-
rope. Water can, however. be
baked out of the corn by kiln
drying process, after which it will
keep for a much longer time. This
precaution is to be taken before
the gift corn is shipped abroad in
the form Of meal, grits and hominy.
Preparing the corn will mean some
delay, but special machinery which,
would not be generally available
abroad is needed. A first ship
ment is expected to reach China
in April, and it will then be ready
for immediate consumption.
As distribution Of the corn is TO
be directly in the hands Of relief
committees no difficulty in get
ting the people to eat the corn is
anticipated. In China where thou
sands of people have been trying
to live on bark and MOSES, there
will be no caviling over the Amer
lean corn being pigs food. And
the committees believe that the
grain will be equally welcome in
Armenia and Hungary. Corn was
used to some extent in Austria
during the war. Europe has never
liked it very much, however, and
generally preferred rye when
wheat was not to be had. Amer
leans have felt that this dislike
was due mainly to ignorance-not
many Europeans know much about
corn, and those who have tasted it
more often than not were preiu-
diced by bad cooking.
The department of agriculture
once sent demonstrators and lee
turers over to Europe to enlighten
the different countries as to the
possibilities Of Indian corn. Meth
er eloquence nor samples of corn
disguised in griddle cakes, muf-
fins, gingerbread or corn pone
aroused any enthusiasm. Mostly,
those present did not even come
forward to get the samples. Be-
cause of such experiences. when
the food shortage began to afflict
Europe, the United States did not
send corn to the rescue. You may
remember that Herbert Hoover
urged us to eat more corn and save
wheat because Europe could not
very well be taught to eat a new
kind of food in so critical a Pc
Rod. ..................
Now the situation is different,
and Hoover accepted the offered
corn gladly. About II ,00o, 900 bush
els it is announced Will be fed to
Of the famine areas, and
most Of it will be pre-
pared by the relief organizations
and served to the children at feed
ng centers.
With adequate cooking, the nu-
tritive value of corn is about the |
same as that Of wheat. Corn con- 1
aims a large amount of sugar and /
starch which supply the body with
1eat and energy. It also has a
good deal Of protein which builds
Up the body tissues. It is not,
rich in minerals, needed
n bone formation. Experiments
,ave shown that corn is about as
]igestible as wheat and that 80
Der cent of its dry matter is ab-
;orbed in the process of digestion.
The high nutritive value of corn
s realized all over this country
md we have been eating it ever
ince the Pilgrims by accident dug
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