42 INDIAN COEN. 



found by travellers to tlie North that the larger the 

 proportion of fatty elements contained in their food, 

 the more easily they withstand the extreme severity 

 of the temperature. Accordingly it appears that the 

 seal, the bear, the water-fowl, and other animals that 

 supply food to the natives of the frigid zone, acquire a 

 superabundance of fat in the ratio of their proximity 

 to the pole ; and here we perceive the same law re- 

 vealing itself in the vegetable kingdom. As man 

 advances to the north, he finds the fuel that is de- 

 manded by the rigor of the climate partially supplied 

 by the indigenous food that pertains to the latitude. 



It is also to this peculiar property of maize that it 

 largely owes its unrivalled excellence for fattening 

 purposes. All domestic animals are easily and rapidly 

 fattened when judiciously fed with corn meal ; and, 

 what is still more important, the flesh thus acquired is 

 firmer and better than that produced by any other 

 grain. 



A further and more detailed consideration of the 

 uses and value of this cereal for purposes of food may 

 be found in a subsequent chapter. 



