CORN 



1590 



CORNEILLE 



competitor for various prizes. The state, dis- 

 trict and county championships are determined 

 on about the following basis: 



( 1 ) Greatest yield per nore 30 



(2) Best showing: of profit on Investment.. .30 



(3) Best exhibit of 10 ears at county, dis- 

 trict or state fair 20 



(4) Best written history or account, entitled 

 "How I Made My Corn Crop" 20 



Total score 



.100 



The prizes include free trips to fairs, educa- 

 tional institutions and state corn shows, land, 

 farm implements, thoroughbred farm animals, 

 banners and pennants, tools, poultry equip- 

 ment, camping outfits, books, subscriptions to 

 magazines, etc. Probably the most desirable 

 awards in the eyes of the boys are the free 

 trips to Washington, D. C., but scholarships 

 in agricultural colleges are also highly prized. 



The practical benefits resulting from the 

 corn-club movement are eminently worth 

 while. In 1910 Secretary Wilson publicly stated 

 that he gave the boys' corn clubs a considerable 

 degree of credit for the great increase in the 

 production of corn in the South during that 

 year. The boys find in their acre of land 

 a laboratory where they gain practical informa- 

 tion about soil building, selection and testing 

 of seed, cultivation of the grain in fact every- 

 thing pertaining to the growing of corn. They 

 acquire a love for the soil and an apprecia- 

 tion of the importance of agriculture as an 

 industry. They develop habits of close ob- 

 servation, accuracy and systematic application, 

 and they learn to rely on themselves and to 

 adapt themselves to emergencies. 



The contests stimulate in these boys a whole- 

 some spirit of competition, and at the same 

 time widen their interests. The social side of 

 life is cultivated by rallies and other meet- 

 ings, and the bond between the boy and his 

 home is greatly strengthened, because he is 

 doing something that is of vital interest to the 

 family. More than this, the work of the clubs 

 is being more and more correlated with the 

 work in the rural schools, resulting in a vital- 

 izing of the course of study and the creation 

 of a greater interest in school activities. A 

 boy in one of the Southern states produced 

 in 1914 a total of 229 bushels on his acre of 

 ground, and this so far as is known is the 

 highest yield ever known. See BOYS' AND 

 GIRLS' CLUBS. 



History. Corn is of distinctly tropical origin, 

 while most of the other cereals seem to have 

 originated in the north temperate zone. There 



is good evidence that the culture of corn began 

 in Southern Mexico at least 2,000 or 3,000 

 years ago, and spread from there to other parts 

 of North America and to South America. In 

 Mexico there is a native wild plant known as 

 teosinte, which can be crossed with corn, thus 

 showing a close relationship. Teosinte has 

 very small, poorly-developed ears, but it is 

 altogether probable that corn was developed 

 from it, or from a close relative. By selection 

 man has developed the fine, large ears and 

 the great number of varieties that are known 

 to-day. 



Corn was not known in Europe until it was 

 brought from America by Columbus. It was 

 apparently cultivated by all tribes of Indians 

 in America; the ease with which it was grown 

 and preserved made its culture possible by 

 them. For the same reasons it was adopted 

 by the white people emigrating to America, 

 and from the first has been one of the most 

 important crops in the United States. 



If we attempt to account for the enormous 

 production of corn in the United States, it 

 will be found that it is due principally to the 

 ease and cheapness of production, and to its 

 being an intertilled or hoed crop which alter- 

 nates well with small grain crops in the practi- 

 cal management of a farm. Pound for pound 

 the grain is not superior to other cereal grains 

 as feed, but is produced more cheaply. E.D.F. 



Consult Montgomery's Corn Crops; Shamel's 

 Manual of Corn Judging; Rankin's Studies of 

 Corn and Its Uses. 



CORNEILLE, kawrna'i, PIERRE (1606-1684), 

 known as the father of the French classical 

 tragedy, a domain in which he has possibly been 

 equaled, but not surpassed. Born in Rouen, 

 he was admitted to the bar at eighteen years 

 of age, but' his 

 poetical instincts 

 led him away 

 from the legal 

 profession. In 

 1629 his first com- 

 edy, M elite, was 

 played in Paris, 

 where it met with 

 great 



success. 

 Seven years later, 

 Le Cid, his first 

 great classical 



CORNEILLE 

 drama, was produced. From 1629 to 1674 Cor- 

 neille wrote thirty-three plays, eighteen of 

 which are strictly tragedies and the others' 

 lyrical operas, tragedy-ballets and comedies. 



