75 



of which it is a southern analogue. The leaves are sometimes cropped by 

 cattle, but the grass is too tough aocl dry to be of auy importance as a forage 

 plant. Unioia comUiisala of similar habit of growth, but with more densely 

 flowered panicles, is found in the sands along the coast of Lower California. 



No. 250. Zea mays Linn. Indian Corn or Maize. 



One of the most valued of the cultivated cereals. The many varieties which have 

 originated in cultivation have been variously classified. They differ mucli in 

 size, in the form, size, color, and hardiness of the grain, and in the time required 

 for ripening. Husk Maize, in which the kernels are separately enveloped in 

 broad, herbaceous glumes, may approach the native form, which doubtless had 

 its origin in tropical America. Mais dc cojiote, regarded by some as a distinct 

 species, is said to grow wild in some parts of Mexico. The stems of this variety 

 are branched above, and the numerous small 

 ears are borne in the upper leaf axils al) along 

 the branches. The kernels are rounded and de- 

 Ijressed, or conical with a rather acute apex 

 pointing forward in two opposite rows, or irreg- 

 ularlv arranged in four to six rows. Aside from 

 its great value as a cereal, ordinary field corn 

 is the best of the annual forage plants for soil- 

 ing, and is also valued and used by many farm- 

 ers for ensilage, being cut for this purpose when 

 the kernels commence to glaze. Among the 

 many uses of corn may be mentioned that of 

 making cakes and corn bread, mush or hasty 

 pudding, which is boiled corn meal, a very com- 

 mon dish in New England; mixed with rye and 

 wheat flour the corn meal is used in making 

 "brown bread"; green corn, boiled or roasted, 

 is very largely eaten in its season, and canned 

 corn is an important article of food; pickled 

 green corn also is a favorite dish with many; 

 hulled corn, or hominy, pi-epared by soaking the 

 ripe grain in lye for a certain leugth of time and 

 then removing the hulls or covering of the ker- 

 nels, is a favorite dish in New England ; popped 

 corn, obtained by shaking the shelled corn of 

 certain varieties in a suitable dish over live 

 coals or a hot stove, is a luxury with children, 

 and mixed with sugar or sirnp is made into corn 

 balls and various kinds of candy ; corn and corn 

 meal are largely fed to farm stock in this coun- 

 try, particularly to cattle and hogs; alcoholic liquors in immense quantities are 

 distilled from the grain ; corn husks (the leaves covering the ears) are used in 

 making paper, in upholstery, and for filling mattresses. The total corn crop 

 of the United States for the year 1895 was 2,1.51,138,580 bushels, valued at 

 $544,985,534. The largest crop of any one State for that year was produced by 

 Iowa, and amounted to 298,.502,650 bushels. 



No. 251. Zizania aquatica Linn. Wild Rice. (Fig. 90.) 



A tall, erect annual, 3 to 10 feet high, growing in shallow water along rivers i^nd 

 lakes from Canada southward to Florida and westward to Texas. The grain is 

 a favorite food of the re I'd bird, and the grass is cultivated to some extent by 

 sportsmen with a view to attracting these and aquatic fowl. It grows very rap- 

 idly in 1 to 8 feet of water, and matures its seeds in August or early in Septem- 

 ber. It succeeds best when sown in the fall broadcast in 2 or 3 feet of water 



Fig. 90.— TVild Kice (Zizania 

 aquatica). 



