CORN 



15S4 



CORN 





ORN, the most important cereal grain 

 of the western hemisphere. In the country 

 where it grows most abundantly the United 

 States it is regarded as the symbol of the 

 republic's wealth and greatness, for the value 

 of the annual crop is much greater than that 

 of all the gold and silver taken from its mines 

 each year, and the prosperity of thousands of 

 the farmers is due to abundant harvests of corn. 

 One of the happiest of many tributes paid to 

 this grain is that of Richard J. Oglesby, a for- 

 mer governor of Illinois, the foremost corn 

 state in the American Union 



Aye the corn, the royal corn, in whose yellow 

 heart Is health and strength for all the nations. 



The beauty of the plant has often been 

 praised in poetry, for the fertile farm lands 

 afford no picture more pleasing than a field of 

 corn ripening in the sunshine, with the tall, 

 slender stalks and golden tassels swaying in the 

 breeze. As an emblem of nature's bounty and 

 of abundant harvest it has also inspired many 

 poetic tributes; one which is especially attrac- 

 tive is found in the song Columbia's Emblem, 

 by Edna Dean Proctor: 



Blazon Columbia's emblem, 



The bounteous, golden Corn ! 

 Eons ago, of the great sun's glow 



And the joy of earth, 'twas born. 

 From Superior's shore to Chili, 



From the ocean of dawn to the west, 

 With its banners of green and silken sheen, 



It sprang at the sun's behest ; 

 And by dew and shower, from its natal hour 



With honey and wine 'twas fed, 

 Till the gods were fain to share with men 



The perfect feast outspread. 

 For the rarest boon to the land they loved 



Was the Corn so rich and fair. 

 Nor star nor breeze o'er the farthest seas 



Could find its like elsewhere. 



The Name. The word corn does not have 

 the same meaning the world over. The native 

 name of the plant described in this article 

 found originally in the Americas is maize, and 

 it is known by. that name generally in Europe. 

 Corn has always been a general term for grain 

 in Europe, and the Europeans who first became 



acquainted with the strange grain of the New 

 World gave to maize the name Indian corn. 

 By this latter name it is still known in Eng- 

 land, where wheat is called corn. Across the 

 Scottish border one may hear the name applied 

 to oats, and in the northern part of Europe it 

 means rye. The word also occurs in the Bible 

 with varied meanings. In the book of Ruth 

 it is recorded that in the beginning of the 

 barley harvest Ruth went into the fields to 

 glean the ears of corn ; in Judges XV it is told 

 that in the time of the wheat harvest Samson 

 burned the standing corn of the Philistines. 

 But in the United States and Canada the 

 names maize and Indian corn are applied to 

 the plant much less frequently than is the word 

 corn, and the latter term occurs in all govern- 

 ment statistics and reports. 



Distribution and Production. The accom- 

 panying illustrations show the leading countries 

 producing corn, and their average annual yield 

 in bushels. The United States produces a 

 larger crop each year than all the other coun- 

 tries combined. Canada grows only about 15,- 

 000,000 bushels annually, for the grain requires 

 a longer growing season than most of the 

 provinces afford, but the average yield per acre 

 in the Dominion is considerably higher than 

 in the United States, the proportion being 

 about fifty-five to thirty bushels. 



Description. Corn is a member of the grass 

 family, and in general appearance resembles 

 the sugar cane. The plant grows from a fibrous 

 root system, producing a slender stalk, or stem, 

 that is concave on one side and varies in length 

 according to variety (see subhead, Varieties, 

 below). Important characteristics of this stalk 

 are its division into sections by joints, or nodes, 

 its pithy center, wherein is stored the food 

 needed to ripen the seed, and a thin, compact, 

 outer layer which serves as a protecting cover- 

 ing. The stalk grows erect and puts forth long, 

 slender, pointed leaves, of a dark green color. 



Two kinds of flowers are borne by each plant 

 male and female. The former, which are at 

 the top of the stalk, bear the stamens and 





