INDIAN CORN. 



Synonymes. 



\ 

 Zea mays, OF BOTANISTS. 



Maize, Indian Corn, BRITAIN AND ANGLO-AMERICA. 



Maiz, Trigo de Indias, SPAIN. 



Grano d'India, Grano ) 



Turco, > ITALY. 



Grano Siciliano, ) 



Maiz, Milho da India, ) T> 



Milho grande, } PORT AL AND BRAZIL, 



Mais, Tiirkischer Korn, GERMANY. 



Mays, Turksch Koorn, HOLLAND. 



Turkish Hvede, SWEEDE"N AND DENMARK. 



Tureskoichljeb, RUSSIA. 



Derivations. The generic name Zea is derived from the Greek zao, to lire, 

 from the nutritive qualities of this, or soine other kind of corn formerly culti- 

 vated in Greece or on the adjacent Archipelago. The word mays, and all its 

 derivatives, according to Clavigero, have been derived from the denomination of 

 this vegetable in the Haitina language, or that of Hispaniola ; but by others, it 

 is thought to come from the Lettish and Livonic mayse, which signifies bread 

 in those languages. The European names Ble d'Indie, Trigo de Indias, etc., 

 have been so called on account of this grain having first been brought by Colum- 

 bus from America, which was known at that time by the name of the " Indies ;" 

 and those names signifying " Turkish Corn," took their origin from the circum- 

 stance that the cultivation of this plant spread from Turkey to the neighbouring 

 countries, and consequently led some writers to believe that it first came from 

 the East. 



Description. 



The fruitful maize, in verdant vistas rear'd, 



Its spire majestic, to the playful breeze, 



Spreading its loosely- waving panicles, while low 



The purple anthers bending o'er to kiss 



The silken, tassel'd styles, delight the eye 



Of watchful Ceres. ' TRAITS OF THE ABORIGINES. 



MAIZE, OR INDIAN CORN, consists of several varieties 

 which are thought to owe their distinctive charac- 

 ters to the accidental modifications of climate, soil, and 



