326 Singing Valleys 



were the questions he demanded. It was that seedsman who 

 took the corn to W. Atlee Burpee, the Philadelphia seedsman 

 who was always interested in creating and in launching new 

 varieties of plants. Burpee bought two quarts of Chambers' 

 yellow corn and the right to give it to the world, under the 

 name he chose Golden Bantam. 



I hope the citizens of Greenfield, Massachusetts, will some 

 day put up a statue to Bill Chambers, who created Golden 

 Bantam, just as I hope some seedsman some day will name a 

 variety of sweet corn for Captain Richard Bagnall who carried 

 the seeds of the first variety from the Indian village in western 

 New York to Plymouth and grew it in his garden there. Men 

 who do things like that should be remembered. Even aside 

 from the financial value of their contributions and Golden 

 Bantam has made millions of dollars for growers, and is in a 

 way to make many millions more there is the contribution 

 to the nation's good eating. Food needs to be much more 

 than all the dietitians give it credit for. If all that man needed 

 to keep him in a state of physical well being were so many 

 calories of such and such proteins, carbohydrates and fats, he 

 could take three pills three times a day and put all the chefs 

 and restaurateurs out of business. But the point is, he does 

 need something more than just a chemical least common mul- 

 tiple. He needs the sensory enjoyment of good food well pre- 

 pared. A great deal of the art of life is developed at dinner 

 tables. And more than half of the famous epigrams of the 

 world have come to birth in that stimulating atmosphere 

 that follows naturally the placing on the table of a dish that 

 is as appetizing as it looks. A man needs to enjoy what he eats 

 for it to nourish him. His senses must be satisfied, or else 

 they will develop a revenging neurosis. Frequently when I am 

 talked to by food cranks who want me to grind up my salad 

 and drink it, and who boast that they start the day with lemon 

 juice, grated raw carrot, and an egg yolk in olive oil, I am re- 

 minded of the old conundrum, "Which came first; the hen or 

 the egg?" Which came first with these food reformers, I 



