CORN 



1587 



CORN 



AREAS OF GREATEST PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES 



Corn Products. Although rice feeds more 

 people, corn may be regarded as of equal im- 

 portance, as it yields a larger number of prod- 

 ucts than rice. Every part of the corn plant 

 has its particular use. The stalk, the leaves, 

 the pith and the fiber, apart from the cob and 

 kernels, all have important commercial value. 

 From the cob is obtained a pulp that makes 

 excellent material for stuffing mattresses; the 

 cob also provides pipes which are considered 

 among the best and coolest by experienced 

 smokers. From the pith of the stalks a paper 

 of good quality is made, and it is also used in 



HOW THE ROOTS PENETRATE THE SOIL, 



the manufacture of guncotton and smokeless 

 powder, and as packing behind the armor plate 

 of battleships. This packing is found very 

 effective; if the armor plate is pierced, the 

 pith swells and stops the resulting leak. It is 

 possible that at no far-distant day the entire 



stalk will be utilized in the manufacture of 

 paper. 



An oil which is extracted from corn flour by 

 pressure is important in the manufacture of 

 cheap rubber. Corn oil is also used as stock 

 food, mixed with meal. Many millions of 

 bushels of corn are annually made into starch, 

 both as food and for laundry purposes. Glu- 

 cose is another product of corn, and is widely 

 used in the manufacture of confectionery, pre- 

 serves and jellies. Alcohol in great quantities 

 is made from corn by distillation, a bushel 

 producing more than two gallons of ninety-five 

 per cent pure spirit (see subhead Coming Uses 

 jor Stalks, below). The gum, or adhesive mix- 

 ture, used on the back of United States post- 

 age stamps is dextrin, also a product of corn 

 and used, as well, in the manufacture of glue. 

 The leaves of the corn plant are employed for 

 packing fruit and making mats ; and in the corn 

 belt and other districts where the expense of 

 hauling coal is great, corncobs provide a con- 

 siderable part of the family fuel, three tons of 

 cobs being equal to one ton of hardwood. 



Of the corn raised in the United States more 

 than four-fifths is used for stock food on the 

 farms producing it, corn being both a cereal 

 and a forage plant. About thirteen per cent 

 of the crop is utilized in the manufacture of 

 different products, among them being syrup, 

 cooking starches, alcohol, laundry soap, glu- 

 cose, sugar, paste, oil, rubber and many other 

 important articles of commerce. The amount 



