584 Select Plants for Industrial Culture and 



a more humid soil than Sorghum. Good writing and printing papers 

 can be prepared from maize-straw. Meyen calculated, that the 

 return from maize under most favorable circumstances in tropical 

 countries would be eight hundred fold, and under almost any circum- 

 stances it is the largest yielder among cereals in warm countries. 

 Acosta counted on some cobs of the Inca-Maize as many as 700 

 grains, and says that it is not uncommon to harvest of this variety 

 300 fold of the seeds sown ; It grows to a height of 15 feet in rich 

 soil and under careful cultivation, by which means the grains will 

 become four or five times as large as the ordinary kind. In Peru it can 

 be grown up to an altitude of 8,000 feet. A very stunted variety is 

 successfully grown in Baluchistan, between 5,000 and 9,000 feet, and 

 forms there a staple food of the population [J. H. Lace]. Mr. 

 Buchanan, of Lindenau, obtained 150 bushels of ordinary maize from 

 an acre in Gippsland-flats, colony Victoria. In the littoral region of 

 North-Queensland three harvests can be obtained within a year from 

 some varieties. Even in the very dry clime of the Murray-River 

 districts maize, but under irrigation, has yielded 80 bushels per acre 

 [D. Cormack]. Prof, Blount succeeded in growing a hardy variety 

 of maize in Colorado at an elevation of 5,000 feet [W. Farrer.] From 

 the stalks of ordinary maize, after the ripened grains have been plucked, 

 sugar at the rate of 900 Ibs. per acre is still obtainable [Department 

 of Agriculture, Washington]. Maize has come into use for alcoholic 

 distillation ; also, for beer-brewing. In 1879 already the United 

 States produced 1,547,900,000 bushels of maize on 53 millions of acres, 

 to the value of 580 million dollars, or about 120,000,000. In 1882 

 the maize-produce there was 1,617,000,000 bushels, from 68,800,000 

 acres, realizing monetarily 783,867,000 dollars, equal to 163,000,000; 

 in 1892 the yield was about 1,600 million bushels from 78 million 

 acres, the states Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Indiana, Ohio and 

 Nebraska furnishing more than three-fourths. The import of Corn- 

 flour and Maizena into Victoria during 1887 came to 434,575 Ibs., 

 valued at 9,681. Maize-grain will retain its power of germination 

 for two years with certainty. As a fattening saccharine green- 

 fodder, maize is justly and universally in warm countries appreciated. 

 In America much used for ensilage. Maize-straw, carefully secured 

 surpasses even Timothy-hay in value as stable-fodder. In Middle 

 Europe the Horse-tooth variety is frequently grown for this purpose, 

 and attains occasionally a height of fully 12 feet, although the seeds 

 do not come to perfection there. Any ergot from it is used, like that 

 of rye, for medicinal purposes. Maize-corn contains about 75 per cent, 

 of starch. Dierbach recommends mellago or treacle from maize instead 

 of that prepared from the roots of Triticum repens, L., and the 

 molasses so obtained serve also for culinary uses. Sugar and treacle 

 are now made on a large scale from maize-stems in the manner indi- 

 cated under Andropogon saccharatus. Exposure to extreme and 

 protracted cold four years in Polaris Bay, Smith Sound, 81 38' 

 north-latitude did not destroy the vitality of wheat- and maize- 

 grains [R. J. Lynch]. The elongated thread-like styles have come 



