15 



be any difference, superior to that of wheat. Data of the kind men- 

 tioned above, based on carefully controlled feeding experiments, checked 

 at every point by chemical analyses, are evidently of far greater value 

 than those which are reported by the Kansas State board of agriculture 

 for the quarter ending September 30, 1894, where circulars were sent to 

 prominent growers of stock and reports of their observations on the 

 comparative value of wheat and Indian corn were tabulated. As a 

 result of the preponderance of testimony given by these circulars, it 

 was concluded that wheat was superior to Indian corn, pound for pound, 

 as a food for animals. These reports, however, were based merely upon 

 observation, and were not controlled in any way by weighing or chemi- 

 cal analysis. The conclusion, therefore, is not valuable as evidence 

 when contrasted with that of the feeding experiments at the Minnesota 

 station above mentioned. 



COMPARATIVE PRODUCTION OF PORK FROM WHEAT AND MAIZK. 



In experiments made at the Ohio State University, collected in 

 The Experiment Station Record, vol. 6, page 466, it was found that a 

 bushel of wheat produced 13.7 pounds of pork, while a bushel of corn 

 made 12.3 pounds. When the difference of weight between a bushel of 

 wheat and a bushel of corn is considered, the actual gain, it is seen, is 

 almost the same for both. Calculated on the market price of wheat and 

 Indian corn, it cost $4.01 to produce 100 pounds' increase with wheat, 

 and $2.85 to produce the same increase with Indian corn. 



Carefully weighing all the reliable evidence at hand, the conclusion 

 is inevitable that from the point of view of chemical composition, of 

 digestibility, and of nutritive value Indian corn with its products, 

 pound for pound, is fully equivalent to wheat. In the case of food for 

 man, which this bulletin particularly has to consider, there must be 

 taken into account the additional element of palatability. It is evi- 

 dent that in the case of two given foods of almost the same chemical 

 composition, and of equal digestibility, the more palatable will be the 

 more valuable food for man. In regard to palatability, as has already 

 been mentioned, there- is the widest difference of opinion. European 

 writers on dietetics uniformly condemn Indian corn and its products 

 as being unfit for food for man. On the other hand, the ample experi- 

 ence of our own country shows that it is an extremely palatable food, 

 as well as nutritious, and a large part of our population prefer it, from 

 a gustatory point of view, to wheat. It must be admitted, therefore, 

 tbat in respect of palatability usage is an important factor, and it is 

 evident that other nations, when accustomed to the use of Indian corn 

 and its products as food for man, would find it equally as palatable as 

 it is found to be in the United States. 



BREAD FROM MAIZE MEAL. 



Bread made from Indian corn is a popular diet in the southern part 

 of the United States, although it is not used very extensively in the 



