On preserving Corn and Flour. 168 



SECT. XXIII. On preserving Corn and Flour. 

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IN several countries, such as Switzerland, Poland, &c. 

 great labour and expense are bestowed, in storing and pre- 

 serving corn for times of scarcity. In some places, deep 

 pits are made in the solid rock, and in others, caves are dug 

 in the sides of hills, in which the grain is deposited. Large 

 granaries have been also built of stone, so as to admit of a 

 free ventilation, and a frequent stirring of the corn. But, 

 for any moderate period, (say one or two years), there is no 

 mode so advantageous, as the keeping grain in the straw, in 

 a large and well-built stack, properly secured from vermin. 



As the straw, however, becomes less valuable the longer 

 it is kept, and as stacks are exposed to the risk of fire, 

 whether malicious or accidental, the discovery of a cheap 

 and effectual mode of constructing a granary, has long been 

 wished for. 



Farmers, indeed, seldom incline to have much of their 

 thrashed corn on hand at once ; but there ought to be, on 

 every farm, places of security, capable of containing a por- 

 tion of the grain annually produced upon it, in case there 

 should be a deficiency of market. Such granaries, scattered 

 over the whole country, would be the best security against 

 famine that has hitherto been thought of, and being less 

 visible, would not be so obnoxious, nor liable to the same 

 hazards, from popular frenzy, as large stacks, or even well 

 filled barns ( zia ). 



If there should be any objection to granaries, there is no 

 difficulty in preserving flour, in a manner that would an- 

 swer the same object. When Bonaparte took possession 

 of Leipsic, prior to the battle which proved so fatal to the 

 French army, he found a number of barrels of flour, that 

 had been kept there for several years, and was in perfect 

 good condition; a sufficient proof that flour, when properly 

 manufactured, and closely packed in good condition, is not 

 an article so liable to injury, or so difficult to preserve, as 

 is commonly imagined. In vessels made of block-tin, and 

 sufficiently hard pressed, it may likewise be kept sound, for a 

 great length of time, and during the longest voyages. The 

 same plan would likewise answer if the cases were made of iron. 



SECT. XXIV. Of Straw. 

 THE subject of straw, is of greater importance than is com- 



