156 ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE 



CORN 



149. Historical. Corn is a native of the New World. 

 It is thought to have originated in Mexico, and to have 

 been carried north and south by the Indians. The Indians 

 had grown it for many centuries before America was 

 discovered. They were raising better crops of it than some 

 farmers now raise. They taught the first settlers how 

 to grow it. Had it not been for the corn that the Indians 

 shared with them, the early settlers would have died of 

 famine. Had it not been for corn, the settlement of the 

 middle West would have been long delayed, and it is even 

 conceivable that this region might not now belong to the 

 United States. Had it not been for the increased wealth 

 and population of the North, which was due to corn, it 

 is possible that the Civil War might have ended differ- 

 ently. Corn and cotton have had more to do with the his- 

 tory of America than has " taxation without representa- 

 tion." In fact, there would have been few people to tax 

 at the time of the Revolution had it not been for these 

 crops. 



The botanical name of corn is Zea mays. It is of ten 

 called maize, or Indian corn, in order to distinguish it 

 from corn as the word is used in Europe. Wheat, barley, 

 and other small grains are there spoken of as corn. The 

 word is used much as we use the word grain. Probably 

 most Americans think of Indian corn when the word corn 

 is read in the Bible, but we must remember that in those 

 days the Indians were probably the only people who knew 

 this crop. 



150. Corn Crop of the World. Over three-fourths of 



