SECRETARY'S REPORT. 51 



and finally published a work upon the subject. In 1836, 

 M. Bonafous, of Sardinia, published at Turin and at Paris a 

 magnificently illustrated book on the native country, the varie- 

 ties, the cultivation, the harvesting, the maladies of Indian corn, 

 and the use of it in the family, the farm, the arts, and lastly, 

 in relation to health and in medicine. 



In the United States, though no complete and elaborate work 

 has been written upon it, the shorter essays and articles upon 

 the subject are innumerable. 



The materials for a complete civil history of Indian corn must 

 be sought for in old and uninviting volumes, in the narratives 

 of voyages and travels, and in no less than five or six different 

 languages. One should know something of the botany of the 

 western continent, as well as of Asia and the Asiatic isles, to be 

 able to draw the most natural and correct conclusions. I have 

 mentioned several works on Indian corn. In Spain, though no 

 very valuable work has appeared on its history, such frequent 

 allusions are made to it in the narratives of the voyages of 

 Columbus, Alonzo Vega, Penzon, Vespucci and Cortez,as to be 

 of very great service in determimng its native country. The 

 works of Oviedo and Hernandez, also, are worthy of mention. 

 Still more important is the authority of Humboldt. 



Naturalists have long disputed the origin of maize. The 

 question is one of some interest, inasmuch as some claim our 

 own as its native country, while others contend that it came 

 from the East. It is proper to state, briefly, the argument as it 

 stands, after which we shall be better able to draw somewhat 

 satisfactory conclusions. 



Bock, the first botanist who wrote of it, forty years after the 

 discovery of America, asserts that it came from Arabia, and was 

 called ivheat of Asia, (ble d'Asie,) great wheat and great reed. 

 But four years after, the same opinion is maintained by Ruel- 

 lius, whose assertions are perhaps worthy of respect. Fuchsius 

 also declares that it came from Asia to Greece, thence to Ger- 

 many, and was called ivheat of Turkey, because the Turks at 

 that time possessed all Asia. Many writers have taken the 

 authority of the old map or chart of Incisa, of the thirteenth 

 century, to prove that it came from the East. Of such we 

 may mention Sismondi, M. Michaud, Gregory, Lonicer, Amo- 

 reux, and Reynier, who was familiar with the history of agri- 



