52 



The World's Commercial Products 



a table oil and for making soap. It was formerly obtained as a by-product in the alcohol dis- 

 tilleries, where maize is largely used 1 as a source of spirit, but is now obtained on a large scale 

 from the isolated germs by hydraulic pressure. 



The inner leaves which enwrap the cobs are used by the natives of the Sunda Islands for 

 making cigarette papers. The leaves are boiled for a few hours in a solution of sugar, and 

 then, after being smoothed out and dried, are ready for use. The " papers " are said to 

 improve the flavour of the tobacco in these cigarettes, which are very popular among 

 the people, being sold in packets of ten for a few cents. 



In addition to the countries mentioned above, maize is cultivated very largely by the 

 natives of Africa as a food-stuff for themselves and their cattle, and also by the colonists. In 



the East it is also largely 

 grown, but the two prin- 

 cipal maize -producing 

 countries of the world, 

 which export the cereal in 

 enormous quantities, are 

 the United States and 

 Argentina. 



Maize is an annual 

 grass reaching, under 

 average conditions of soil 

 and climate, a height of 

 from six to eight feet. 

 The stem is not hollow, as 

 is so commonly the case 

 in members of the grass 

 family, but is solid, and 

 in its younger stages con- 

 tains a considerable pro- 

 portion of sugar, a fact 

 which renders the plant 

 of considerable value for 

 forage. 



The leaves vary great- 

 ly in length, but generally 

 have an undulating margin, and their colour may be green, yellow, or red, according to 

 the variety of the plant. They are generally covered with a fine down on their under sur- 

 face. Variegated and other varieties are frequently grown in the open air in summer in 

 parks and gardens in this country for the sake of their foliage. 



The male flowers are borne on the top of the stem in the so called " tassel," and form 

 large quantities of loose dry pollen, which is readily scattered by the wind. The female flowers, 

 on the other hand, are protected by the bases of the foliage leaves, and occur on spikes which 

 are further protected by the strong sheathing " spathe." From the apex of the female spike, 

 or cob, as it is termed, the delicate styles of the flowers hang out in the form of a dense silky 

 plume, and sooner or later the male pollen floating in the air comes into contact with these, 

 when fertilisation is effected , and we have the delicate spike developing into the ripe 

 golden-yellow maize-sSte, so well known to everyone. 



Maize, however, is an extremely variable plant, and it is said that over 300 recognisable 

 varieties are known. Some are only a few inches in height, while others are giants of several 

 feet ; some come to maturity in two months, while others require three or four times as long 

 before their cobs ripen.' "There is also great variety in the shape, size, and colour of the actual 



KAFFIR WOMEN GRINDING MAIZE 



