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THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



367. Grade Uniformity. — Scofield ^ has pointed out that the 

 essential elements in grading maize are: (i) the moisture, (2) 

 the percentage of colors in mixtures, (3) the percentage of dam- 

 aged grains, and (4) the percentage of broken grains and dirt. 

 He proposes to put all dent maize into three classes as follows ; 



1. Yellow maize; at least 95 per cent yellow. 



2. White maize ; at least 98 per cent white. 



3. Mixed maize ; all maize not included above. 



The maximum limits for each grade of yellow maize are 

 suggested in the following table: 



II. HISTORY. 



368. Nativity. — The records of the early voyagers prove 

 that maize was cultivated on the American continent from 

 Maine to Chile at the time of its discovery. It was then the 

 great bread plant of the New World. Numerous varieties of 

 maize have been found in the ancient tombs of Mexico, Peru 

 and New Mexico. These monuments are supposed to be two 

 thousand years old. As there were many varieties at this time, 

 the cultivation of maize must have been considerably more 

 ancient, although not necessarily so ancient as that of wheat. 

 There was a semi-civilized race of people in Peru, Mexico, and 

 even in New Mexico, who made considerable use of maize, 

 using it boiled and roasted when green, and grinding it and 

 making it into bread when ripe. 



I U. S. Dept. AgT., Bu. PI. Ind. Bui. 41. 



