140 THE SOILS AND CKOPS OF THE FARM. 



food for stock. It is, in connection with grass, the 

 ^reat pork and beef producing material of the United 

 States. The fact that five-sixths of the crop is con- 

 sumed within the county in which it is raised indicates 

 that it is largely used for this purpose. Sir John B. 

 Lawes once said that the natural food of the civilized 

 hog was barley meal. If he had lived in America he 

 would have said that ear-corn was the natural food of 

 the civilized hog. The wonderful development of our 

 pork industry is directly related to our corn crop. 

 For the production of pork there is no single stock 

 food equal to Indian corn. 



While of secondary importance a considerable 

 quantity of corn is used in the aggregate as food for 

 man. Corn bread and hominy are common articles of 

 food, especially among the colored population of the 

 South. 



The ratio of corn to wheat is greater in the South 

 than in the North and there it makes a very consider- 

 able part of the diet of the colored people. Corn is 

 suited to primitive methods. It can be ground for 

 the purpose of making corn bread by very simple ma- 

 chinery, and hominy is made by soaking the corn in 

 the lye of wood ashes, which removes the outer coat. 



Some attempts have been made to bring Indian 

 corn into more general use, especially among Eu- 

 ropeans, by preparing a variety of attractive dishes 

 from it. At present, however, it is used there as a 

 human food only in limited quantities. 



Corn preserved in its green state has become •an 

 article of considerable importance. There«are exten- 

 sive canning establishments in various parts of the 

 country which use in the aggregate millions of bushels 



