Chap. Iir. O F M A I Z.^^.^ 285 



" rubbed off from the ear : for then, they fay, infedls can get at the 

 •< foft part of the grain j and eat into it ; which they cannot do, 

 " while the foft part is connected with the cob in the ear, and the 

 " hard flinty part of every grain turned outward, and the grains 

 " clofe to each other. 



" To preferve their corn, they make in North-America, a fort 

 " of bins, or cages, which they call corn-cribs, fifteen or fixteen 

 " feet long, and five or fix feet wide, v/idening upwards to the top 

 " a foot or more. They are made of fapling poles, three or four 

 *' inches diameter, framed roughly together, by notching the ends 

 " where they crofs the corners, at fuch a diftance from each other, 

 " as but juft to keep the ears from falling through, that there may 

 " be a free paflage for the air. Thefe bins ll:and abroad, and 

 " have a flight moveable covering, or thatch, to keep out the rain. 

 " The Indians bury their corn in holes in the ground, lined with 

 ** mats and dry leaves. 



'* The manner of uflng this corn in America, is various. It has 

 " this advantage over wheat, that fubliftence maybe drawn from your 

 " corn fields long before the general harveft : for the green ears 

 " roafted are delicate food; and as the corn ripens and grows harder, 

 " the ears boil'd are good eating, with butter and fait. When it is 

 " ripe, the corn parch'd and ground into meal, is the hunting and 

 " war provilion of the Indians; being light to carry, and aft^brding 

 '* good nourifhment. They niix a little of it with water, and it 

 *•• needs no other cooking, having already paffed the fire in the parch- 

 ** ing. The grain foaked in water, will part with its Ikin when beat 

 " in a large mortar with a wooden peille : then it is boiled and eaten 

 " with milk. Being pounded coarfely, dry, it is alfo boil'd and 

 •* eaten as rice. Bag puddings, and baked pudding made of it pro- 

 '• perly, are very good. The meal is alfo boil'd with water, to 

 " make what they call a hall:y pudding, which they eat with butter 

 *' and fugar, or with milk. This haily pudding, or boil'd meal, 

 " being mix'd with twice as much dry wheat flour, and worked into 

 " loaves, makes much better and pleafanter bread than flour alone. 

 " All creatures fed with Indian corn, have firm fat and flefh : the 

 " pork of coin-ted hogs is reckoned the finefl: in the world for tafte 

 " and eocduefs : their fat is milk-white, and as hard as butter. The 

 " horfes of Virginia and Maryland, whofe chief fodder is the leaves 

 " and fl:alks of this corn, are reckoned the hardieft of the fpecies, 

 <' bearing moft labour, and recjuiring leaft care. The people in the 



countries 



