The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1925-06-02
CORN is THE STAFF
OF LIFE IN MEXICO
GRAIN BELIEVED NATIVE OF
AMERICA HAS SPREAD IN
TO WORLDWIDE USE.

Mexico's corn crop moved up few
pegs this year.
Interesting economics and sociology
are wrapped up in such a report, &C.
cording to a bulletin from the Wash
ington headquarters OF the Natlona
Geographic Society, which points out
that, like adequate rice supplies ii
China. potatoes in Ireland or wheat in
Russia. a good crop OF corn in Mex
leo is likely to contribute toward gen
eral contcntment and stability.
Mexican Staff of Life
Corn or maize is the staff OF life in
\ Mexico" says d bulletin, but to the
American used to his substantial and
stable LOAF it is likely to appear a
somewhat frail prop. Most OF the Mex
lean corn is milled into meal or flour.
1t is laboriously crushed with small
stone rollers by hand In millions of
kitchens and dooryards The crushed
grain is then moistened into stiff
paste and cooked on a griddle into what
/ the average visitor from the Rio
! Grandc would term a tough, fabby
pancake.
These are tortillas, the most gener-
ally used articles Of food in Mexico
/ They are cooked in the home, in res
taurants, over BLAZERS in the market
place or taken cold by laborers in their
lunch packets Nor are they unknown
on tables Of the prosperous. Wher-
ever food appears in Mexico the tor
tila stands well to the fore
Not only does the tortilla look I'M
appetizing to the outsider it is sure
to prove unappetizing if he follows
his, first impulse to treat it as a pan
cake for it is tough and rather taste
less. But treated as bread the tortilla
will make a much better impression.
The proper trick is to roll it tightly
so that it will be manageable and will
retain its heat 1t then becomes a
read-stick whose spiraled end will
melt bit of butter and then become
a really delectable bite.
Eating Tortillas.
III one casts aside outlander notions
of etiquette he can readily enjoy the
tortila If the rolled end is dipped into
the fiery red sauce OF chile con carne
or the highly seasoned gravy of stew
it furnishes delightful morsels
Among the millions rather than the
thousands of Mexicans, however, tor
tillas are eaten day in and day out
with brown boiled beans.
Corn contributes to another i'm
portant Mexican dish, the tamale. The
raw corn paste is flattened out as
though tortillas were to be made. On
the paste is spread a thin layer OF
minced meat and pepper pods. The
two layers are then folded up so that
the meat and pepper form a sort of
inner core with a sort of capsule of
corn paste about it. Each piece is then
wrapped in a corn shuck made pliable
by soaking in water. Numbers OF these
are placed in tin vessel and cooked
by steam, then served piping hot both
with fire and pepper
Maize Originated Here
Indian corn or maize is almost uni
versally believed by botanists to have
originated in the western hemisphere,
probably in Central America, upland
South America or Mexico. 1t was Who'll
ly unknown in Europe and the Near
East until after the discovery OF Amer
lea, but it is such prolific crop and
the grain is so satisfactory as food both
for man and livestock that its culture
spread rapidly over the world after the
sixteenth century. The United States
continues to be the dominant producer
of maize, but Argentina is getting to be
a considerable rival and exports mil
lions of bushels
Throughout Portugal in parts Of
Spain, in southern France, in the Pc
Valley of Italy and in countries along
the lower Danube maize is a valuable
crop and the grain an important food
material The American from the'Corn
Belt who made a trip through these
countries would have surprises aplenty
in the different methods Of raising and
handling corn. In Portugal he would
find corn not being shelled by machine
or hand but the ears spread out on a
thrashing floor being beaten with fails.
A coarse bread Of corn meal and rye
flour mixed is eaten throughout Port
ugal
In Italy corn is seldom made into
bread The meal is made into thick
porridge containing bits of meat and
called polenta' A coarse bread of
maize meal is sold on the streets OF
Constantinople.
When Corn Is Not Corn.
an Egypt, South Africa, Syria,
Persia, India and even China, Ameri-
can corn is grown, though it is given
a different name in each locality, rang
ing from mealies to Turkish wheat
The stalks are valuable for fuel in
the almost treeless Nile delta, and are
used also by the fellaheen in building
their simple huts.
Certain old records in China indi-
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