12 



Another proof of American origin, is the fact that in 

 several forms it is found growing wild, from the Rocky 

 mountains in North America to the humid forests of Para- 

 guay. In southern sugar-growing regions u wild corn/' as 

 it is called, as a weed pest, is equal to sand or cockle burr, 

 Spanish needle, or smart-weed in the North. 



Corn did not grow in that part of Asia watered by the 

 Indus at the time of Alexander the Great's expedition, as 

 it is not among the productions of that country mentioned 

 by Nearchus, the commander of the fleet. Neither is it 

 noticed by Arrian, Diodorus, Collumella, or any other 

 ancient author. As late as 1491, the year before Colum- 

 bus discovered America, Joan di Cuba, in his "Ortus San- 

 itatus," makes no mention of it. There is no satisfactory 

 evidence that it has ever been found in any ancient tumu- 

 lus, sarcophagus, or pyramid. Nor has it ever been rep- 

 resented in any ancient painting, sculpture, or work of art, 

 except in America. According to Garcilaso de la Vega, 

 one of the earliest Peruvian historians, the palace gardens 

 of the Incas were ornamented with maize in gold and sil- 

 ver, with all the grains, spike, stalks and leaves. In one 

 instance, in the "Garden of Gold and Silver/' there was 

 an entire corn field, of considerable size, representing the 

 maize in its exact and natural shape, a proof no less of the 

 wealth of the Incas, than their veneration for this import- 

 ant grain. 



The arguments derived from vegetable physiology 

 strongly favor its Eastern origin. Because, while fur- 

 ther India and China contain many native plants of re- 

 lated genera, like sorghum and millet, very little, if 

 anything of the kind is to be found among the botanical 

 productions of South America. By the barest possibility, 

 Indian corn may have been introduced into some portions 

 of North America by the Chinese centuries ago, and the 



