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MEMOIR ON 



and water, will sustain a warrior for twenty-four hours, 

 without meat. 



In further proof of the American origin of maize, it 

 may be stated, that it is still found in an indigenous 

 stats from the Rocky Mountains, in North America, 

 to the humid forests of Paraguay ; where, instead of 

 having each grain naked, as is always the case after 

 long cultivation, they are completely covered with 

 glumes or husks. Although there has been much writ- 

 ten upon the Eastern origin of this grain, it did not 

 grow in that part of India watered by the Indus, at the 

 time of Alexander the Great's expedition, as it is not 

 mentioned by Nearchus, the commander of the fleet, 

 among the productions of that country. It is not 

 noticed by Arrian, Diodorus, or Columella ; and even 

 so late as the year 1471, Joan. Cuba, in his " Ortus 

 Sanitatis,'' a very curious treatise on plants, trees, ani- 

 mals, stones, &c., does not make the least mention of it. 

 Neither has it ever been found in any ancient tumulus, 

 sarcophagus, or pyramid ; nor has it ever been repre- 

 sented in any ancient painting, sculpture, or work of 

 art, except in America ! But in this country, according 

 to Garcilasso, the palace gardens of the Incas in Peru, 

 were ornamented with images of gold and silver, of all 

 manner of beasts, birds, trees, flowers, and fruit. Some 

 of tne trees appeared in blossom, some with their fruit 

 partially or fully grown, and in others it appeared quite 

 ripe, according to the several seasons of the year. 

 They also imitated the maize, with all its grains, spikes, 

 stalks, and leaves ; and in one instance, in the u Gar- 

 den of Gold and Silver," there was an entire cornfield, 

 of considerable size, represented with the corn in its 

 exact and natural shape. 



The introduction of maize into Europe, probably 

 dates back to the time soon after Columbus discovered 

 America ; but little attention appears to have been paid 

 there, either to its culture or use, until toward the 

 close of the last century. An amusing, and in many 

 respects, an instructive work, was published some years 

 since, by William Cobbett, upon the merits of Indian 



