54 



The World's Commercial Products 



grain or corn. Some are white as, for example, 

 the Cuzco maize, others are yellow, red, purple, 

 or even striped, and the varieties differ among 

 themselves in chemical composition. 



As stated above, the most important maize- 

 growing country of the world is the United States, 

 where, incredible as it may seem, maize is the 

 most valuable crop, surpassing even cotton. 

 Many varieties are cultivated, but the chief may 

 be roughly grouped into four classes. First come 

 the " Flint " varieties, which are most commonly 

 met with east of Lake Erie and north of Mary- 

 land, and the " Dent " varieties are most popular 

 west and south of these localities. The " Horse- 

 tooth," which passes insensibly into the above forms, is grown chiefly in the south, and, 

 lastly, the " Sweet " varieties are extensively cultivated for the green lalie, which are boiled 

 and used as a vegetable, and seldom allowed to mature into the ripened grain. 



The State of Kansas is one of the principal maize-growing districts of America, and enor- 

 mous quantities of the grain are here annually produced. The country, which is generally 

 flat, is intersected by many rivers, tributaries of the Mississippi, a fact which has a two-fold 

 bearing upon the agriculture of the district, for it allows of a fertile, well-watered, alluvial soil, 

 and places cheap means of transport in the hands of the farmers. The seed is generally sown 

 at the beginning of May, and the experience of most farmers is that the sooner the seed can 

 be put into the ground the better will be the crop. The soil is previously well prepared with the 



MEASURE USED IN INDIA FOR MAIZE 





REAPING MACHINE CUTTING OFF STEMS AND BINDING THEM INTO SHEAVES 



