Maize 



51 



being content with a very coarse cereal, while the well-to-do prefer to have a finely 

 ground meal from which the indigestible fragments of the husk have been removed 

 by careful sifting. Maize, indeed, is a most valuable food for both man and beast. It is 

 said to be more nutritious than most other cereals, including wheat, and, with the outer 

 husk removed, it is easily digestible. The germ of the grain, however, contains an 

 oil which imparts a peculiar and somewhat disagreeable odour to the meal, a fact which 

 militates against the extensive use of the-grain for human food. ,As a food-stuff for all kinds 

 of farm stock, especially cattle, pigs, and poultry, maize is of the greatest importance, and 

 is one of the most extensively used grains of the world. Although very rich in nitrogenous 

 matter and fat, it is not suitable for making bread unless mixed with about twenty-five per 

 cent, of wheat or rye flour. A bread prepared from the latter mixture was formerly largely 



REAPING MAIZE IN ITALY 



used in the Atlantic States of America. The maize bread sold in the streets of Constantinople 

 is also a mixture of maize meal and wheaten flour, but the proportion of the wheat is 

 generally insufficient to render the bread palatable to Western people. 



Maize starch or corn flour is largely used as a substitute for arrowroot and for making 

 biscuits, and inferior qualities are employed for laundry purposes. It is prepared by crushing 

 the soaked grain and allowing the starch to settle from the starch-milk upon inclined tables. 

 The gluten may be removed by apt treatment with alkaline solutions. 



The Indians of Yucatan use the meal for making cakes known as " tortilla," which are said 

 to be very nutritious, and in many parts of the world the young unripe cobs, which are very 

 sweet, are boiled and form a favourite vegetable. 



Among other uses to which maize is put must be mentioned the utilisation of the dried 

 leaves and stems as a material for the manufacture of coarse paper. The germ of the seed 

 also contains a valuable oil known as maize-oil, which is largely used in the United States as 



