XIV. CEREALS OR GRAINS 



Cereals. As a rule cereal crops are grown for the grain or seed 

 that they produce, but occasionally some of them, as corn and 

 oats, are grown also for fodder. All cereals are annuals and have 

 roots which grow in a cluster or crown. These branch out near 

 the surface, but some roots penetrate to depths of three feet or more. 

 The cereal crops grow on nearly any kind of soil, but they do best 

 in moist clay loams which are well underdrained. The rich prai- 

 ries of the United States and Europe are ideal soils for cereals. 



Corn. The great Amer- 

 ican cereal is maize or 

 Indian corn. It is thought 

 to be a native of tropical 

 America, but the early set- 

 tlers found it cultivated to 

 some extent by various 

 Indian tribes in the United 

 States. Columbus found 

 it cultivated on the island 

 of Hayti, where it was 

 called mahez, hence the 

 name maize. It is now 

 grown in practically every State. The leading maize-producing 

 States are Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois, Iowa, Ne- 

 braska, Missouri, and Kansas. It is estimated that the entire 

 production of the United States is nearly three billion bushels 

 of corn, which is three fourths of the world's supply. Corn is a 

 staple food for man and beast and furnishes the material for the 

 manufacture of starch, glucose, and alcohol. Nearly every part 

 of the plant is of commercial value. 



The cobs are used for making corncob pipes, and this is an 

 important manufacturing interest in Missouri and other States. 

 The stalks are used for the manufacture of alcohol, oil, sirup, 



68 



Corn field. 



