CHAPTER IX 

 CORN 



In the next few chapters we shall study about some of the 

 principal crops grown for their seeds. Some of them are used 

 for other purposes besides seed production, but these will be 

 spoken of later. We shall speak briefly of the history, 

 culture, and uses of the various crops. Before beginning we 

 need to explain that by culture we mean the soil to which a 

 crop is adapted, and the way of planting, cultivating and 

 caring for the crop. 



Maize or Indian Corn. — The plant that we call corn is 

 strictly an American plant. It is the only cereal that the New 

 World has given to civilization. Corn has not been found 

 growing wild, but a great deal of evidence goes to show that 

 its native home was in Mexico and Central America. When 

 the early settlers came to America they found the Indians rais- 

 ing corn. The settlers soon learned its usefulness, and find- 

 ing how easy it was to raise, they soon grew it wherever they 

 went. To-day it is grown in every state of the Union. The 

 corn crop is four times as large in number of bushels as that 

 of any other grain crop in the United States. Iowa, Illinois, 

 Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Indiana and Ohio produce 

 more than half of the corn raised in the United States. These 

 states form the so-called "corn belt." 



Kinds of Corn. — There are six kinds of corn, namely: dent, 

 flint, sweet, pop, pod, and soft corn. More care has been 



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