INDIAN CORN. 139 



the only states which supply the commercial centers 

 with com. In most of the other states the com is 

 largely consumed where raised and need not be taken 

 into consideration in the commerce of this crop, except 

 as these states need more or less from the surplus 

 states for consumption. 



Very little, comparatively, of the corn raised in the 

 United States is exported. Since 1870 the export 

 has varied from 1 to 6.5 per cent and has averaged 

 about four per cent. In 1889, up to that time, the 

 year of our greatest crop, it was about five per cent. 

 This very small proportion amounted to more than 

 100 million bushels. 



The amount required for consumption is a very 

 variable quantity, depending on price, other and 

 cheaper feeding materials being largely used when 

 the price is high. The average consumption for ten 

 years past has been about 1,600 million bushels, or 

 28 bushels per head of population. This is the heavi- 

 est rate of consumption of any cereal by any people 

 in the world. It is nearly twice as much, according 

 to population, as the consumption of all the cereals 

 in Europe. 



The quantity of corn stover or stalks raised in the 

 United States is never even approximately ascertained 

 by the gatherers of crop statistics. The yield has been 

 estimated from experimental evidence at about one 

 and one-third pound of corn stalks for each pound of 

 grain produced. On this basis there has been raised 

 annually during, ten years, 1880-89, 51 million tons of 

 corn stover. The average annual production of hay 

 during the same time has been about 4^ million tons. 



Vs^- — The chief use of the Indian corn crop is as 



