n8 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



in a box, covered shallow with fine sand, 

 and regularly watered with a sprinkler. 



I think figs generally are self-fertilizing. 

 I had one tree, however, whose fruit uni- 

 formly fell when about two thirds grown. 

 I ascribed this to want of fertilization. 

 Possibly the presence of the caprifico might 

 have changed results. If so, it would follow 

 that some varieties are self-fertilizing and 

 others not. The " fig-wasp " is unknown 

 here. 



The " novel phenomenon " related by 

 Mr. C. G. McMillan may be found dupli- 

 cated, though not in precisely the same way, 

 in Northern Mississippi. His fossil leaves 

 had retained their color during untold ages. 

 In the other case it was the resin of the pine- 

 tree. Near the village of Iuka was lying, 

 some twenty years ago, and perhaps is still, 

 a petrified pine-log about two feet in diame- 

 ter, a ten-pound fragment of which lies here 

 in my study. Not only does the stone re- 

 tain the color and appearance of pine-wood, 

 but the petrified resin has the color, semi- 

 transparency, and general appearance of 

 real resin. The surface-land is eocene. 



Isaac Kinley. 

 Los Angeles, Cal., March 11, 1S85. 



SAMP AND HULLED CORN. 



Messrs. Editors : 



Mattieu Williams, in article 42 of his 

 " Chemistry of Cookery " (" Popular Science 

 Monthly " for January), says : " Before pro- 

 ceeding fnrther I must fulfill the promise 

 made in No. 39, to report the result of my 

 repetition of the Indian process of prepar- 

 ing samp. I soaked some ordinary Indian 

 corn in a solution of carbonate of potash, 

 exceeding the ten or twelve hours specified 

 by Count Rumford. The external coat was 

 not removed even after two days' soaking." 

 He suspects the corn was too old and dry, 

 and that the Indians used new or freshly 

 gathered grain. 



In the first place, this is not the way to 



prepare samp. Samp is the Anglicized In- 

 dian name for maize parched and pounded. 

 It came afterward to be the name for the 

 new corn, pounded or coarsely ground. This 

 being done before the kernels were fairly 

 dry, it was much prized for mush or hasty- 

 pudding. 



The prepared Indian corn he refers to 

 is called in New England hulled corn. My 

 grandmother, whose parents were contem- 

 porary with and from the same part of the 

 country as Count Kumford, was famous for 

 her hulled corn. 



That this method of preparing corn for 

 food was learned from the Ind'ans is un- 

 certain. It was probably a Yankee inven- 

 tion of early date. 



Grandmother's way was to put a peck 

 of old, dry maize into a pot filled with water, 

 and with it a bag of hard-wood ashes, say a 

 quart. After soaking a while it was boiled 

 until the skins or hulls came off easily. The 

 corn was then washed in cold water to get 

 rid of the taste of potash, and then boiled 

 until the kernels were soft. Another way 

 was to take the lye from the leaches where 

 potash was made, dilute it, and boil the 

 corn in this until the skin or hull came off. 

 In the experiment tried by Mr. Williams, 

 his solution of carbonate of potash was not 

 of sufficient strength, or, if it was, the maize 

 or corn should have been boiled. It makes 

 a delicious dish, eaten with milk or cream. 



In the early days of New England, maize 

 was the principal grain, and was designated 

 corn, which is the significance of the name 

 now in all parts of the Union. Ground 

 maize is called in New England " Indian- 

 meal," and mixed with one third of rye- 

 meal, fermented and baked, once consti- 

 tuted the principal bread of the whole coun- 

 try. It was called " rye-and-indian," pro- 

 nounced ryningen. Boston brown bread is 

 an imitation of it. Baked Indian is still a 

 common appellation for a corn-meal pud- 

 ding that strikes a stranger as a reminis- 

 cence of cannibalism. P. J. F. 

 Clinton, Iowa, Marcli 20, 1885. 



EDITOR'S TABLE. 



ILLITERACY AS A SOURCE OF NATIONAL 

 DANGER. 



A GREAT deal of attention has late- 

 ly been drawn to this subject, and 

 in certain quarters an attempt has been 

 made to " boom " it in a manner that can 

 hardly be pronounced entirely disinter- 

 ested. In certain educational journals, 

 for example, teachers are urged to peti- 

 tion the national Legislature for the 



passing of the "Blair Bill," on the 

 ground that it will improve their own 

 remuneration. One form of petition, 

 which we find printed for the conven- 

 ience of teachers, states that "igno- 

 rance among the masses of the people 

 now exists to such a degree as to 

 threaten the early destruction of the 

 free institutions of the republic," and 

 that therefore a system of free schools 



