152 ESSAY ON INDIAN CORN. 



not known to the ancient Greek and Latin authors. M. Parmentier 

 is of opinion that it had American origin. 



M. E. Discourtilz also says maize was introduced into Europe by 

 the Spaniards, who brought it from Peru.^ It is important to men- 

 tion, also, the authority of Thomas Nuttall, 2 who thinks it was in- 

 digenous to tropical America. The same conviction is expressed by 

 the learned Mrs. Somerville.^ 



It remains to speak of the important conclusions of Baron Hum- 

 boldt. " It is no longer doubted," says this learned naturalist, in 

 his Essay on New Spain, " it is no longer doubted among botanists, 

 that maize, or Turkey corn, is a true American grain, and that the 

 old continent received it from the new." Again, he says : " On the 

 discovery of America by the Europeans, the zea maize (tlaolli in 

 the Aztec language, makiz in the Haitian) was cultivated from the 

 most southern part of Chili to Pennsylvania." Massachusetts, he 

 might have said, for such was the case. " According to a tradition 

 of the Aztec people, the Toultecs in the seventh century of our era, 

 were the first who introduced into Mexico the cultivation of maize, 

 cotton, and pimento. It might happen, however, that these different 

 branches of agriculture existed before the Toultecs, and that this na- 

 tion, the great civilization of which has been celebrated by the histo- 

 rians, merely extended them successfully. Hernandez informs us, 

 that the Otamites even, who were only a wandering and barbarous 

 people, planted maize." Thus we see it was cultivated in America 

 long before the discovery, and formed a most important article of 

 food for centuries. 



Having candidly stated the various authorities on this question, 

 we are now prepared to proceed in our investigation. And first, let 

 us say, that though we should consider it no small gift of the New 

 World to the Old, it is not difficult, on a question which does not ef- 

 fect either personal or national honor to free our minds from preju- 

 dice and partiality, and study with a desire to ascertain and estab- 

 lish the truth. We are not convinced by the assertions of some or 

 by the arguments of Bonafous and others, to prove that maize origi- 

 nated in the east. They have not made out a satisfactory case. It 



1 Flore Pittoresque et Medicale des Antelles, Paris, 1&29. 



2 Nuttall's Works, vol. 1, p. 203. 



3 Physical Geography, p. 247. 



