THE CEREAL FRUITS 173 



producing about 600,000,000 bushels annually. The per capita 

 consumption of wheat is greatest in Great Britain, Canada, 

 Australia, France and the United States; in the latter amounting 

 to A]/4^ bushels annually. The milling of wheat results in different 

 kinds of flour depending upon the amount of the kernel used. 

 Standard white flour uses only three quarters of the grain — 

 the nutritious bran, aleurone layer and embryo being removed. 

 Whole wheat flour, in spite of its name, uses only part of the bran, 

 but all of the endosperm. Graham flour is made from the entire 

 kernel, and includes all of the nutrients of the bran as well as 

 the complete endosperm and embryo. Wheat is not only milled 

 into flour, and used in the manufacture of macaroni and spa- 

 ghetti; from it is produced breakfast cereals, alcoholic beverages, 

 industrial alcohol (cf. p. 397) and sizing starch. The wheat straw 

 is used for packing, stuffing mattresses, making wickerwork and 

 hats. 



Maize 



The New World's contribution to the cereal crops is maize, 

 or "Indian corn" as it was called by the first white men when 

 they saw it under cultivation by the Indians. Since "corn" is a 

 general term used in England and other countries to designate 

 any hard edible seed or kernel, it is more accurate to refer to 

 what Americans usually call "corn" by its native and more 

 specific name of maize. The exact place of origin of maize is 

 unknown, as is its wild prototype. A maize-like plant known as 

 teosinte grows in Mexico, and this is sometimes considered a 

 possible wild relative. It is probable, however, that maize 

 originated in Central America and was carried from there by 

 prehistoric Indian tribes north into Mexico and south into South 

 America. Maize was being cultivated at least 2000 years ago by 

 the Indians of our Southwest, and had become a common Indian 

 crop as far north as the Great Lakes when the fiirst settlers 

 reached that region. Maize was brought to Europe by Columbus, 

 and to Asia by the Portugese ; in both regions it was found adapt- 

 able to a diversity of soils and climate, surprising in view of its 

 tropical ancestry. 



