CHAPTER IV 

 CORN OR MAIZE (ZEA MAYS) STRUCTURE 



CORN belongs to the great family of grasses, which also 

 includes, besides the ordinary grasses, sorghum, sugar-cane, 

 and the small grains. It is a large annual plant, making its 

 growth in the warmer part of the year and is easily killed 

 by freezing temperatures. 



The word " corn ' ' in Europe means any kind of grain. In 

 the United States, the word applies only to Indian corn or 

 maize. Most authorities think that this plant originated 

 in the southern part of Mexico. It has few near relatives 

 among either wild or cultivated plants. Its nearest cul- 

 tivated relative is teosinte, a tropical forage plant which 

 is of some value in the southern part of the United States. 



Corn is the largest and most valuable single crop grown 

 in the United States, occupying more than twice the acre- 

 age devoted to wheat and three times that occupied by 

 cotton. Its most important use is as a food for live-stock, 

 for which both the grain and all parts of the vegetative 

 portion of the plant are employed. 



Corn also constitutes an important article of human 

 food. In the South corn-bread is largely consumed, and 

 in all parts of the United States numerous other articles 

 for human consumption are made from the corn grain, 

 such as breakfast foods and cornstarch. The oil extracted 



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