78 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



47° at St. Ann's, near Quebec. The mountainous parts of New 

 York, and Canada West between Ottawa River and Lake 

 Huron, can grow no corn ; but the river valleys have its line on 

 the 46° of latitude as far west as Lake Huron in 82° west 

 longitude. The elevation of the country and the lakes reduce 

 the temperature and the Indian corn line to 45° of north lati- 

 tude, and this line continues west almost to the Mississippi ; 

 passing this elevated district to the warmer summer of the 

 plains, it goes abruptly north to 50° of north latitude, at Lake 

 Winnipeg, 97° west longitude, which is its highest point, giving 

 on this meridian 23 degrees of latitude in the United States, 

 and the whole amount of 35 degrees of latitude for the North 

 American continent as the range of this single cultivated staple. 

 Westward of this meridian the line becomes irregular and 

 exceptional. On the upper Missouri and to the base of the 

 Rocky Mountains there is some cultivation to 41^° of north lat- 

 itude. West of the mountains it reappears in the same latitude, 

 and in the lower valleys of the north fork of the Columbia, it 

 goes to Fort Colville, near 49° of north latitude, with a tem- 

 perature very nearly like Laperai and Fort Vancouver. At 

 120 its range ceases for all latitudes on the continent of North 

 America. Africa is too tropical and has little place for Indian 

 corn, but near the Mediterranean, in Europe, Spain, a small 

 part of the south of France, say Rochelle, Italy, the valleys of 

 Austria and Hungary and of Turkey, with the islands of the 

 Mediterranean, comprise its range. The high element of greater 

 midday heat for one month of the summer is wanting, and 

 therefore no skill can acclimatize Indian corn for profitable 

 growth in the densely populated parts of Europe, or in the 

 British isles. Corn may be accounted a sure crop in almost 

 every portion of the habitable globe between the 44th parallels 

 of latitude, north and south, with the exceptions named. 



The climate is said to be too cool during summer in Oregon 

 for the crop to do well, being like England. In 1857 as far 

 north as Aroostook, Maine, corn silked out at the end of July, 

 and fifty-one bvishels of sound corn has been raised ; forty is 

 the average, which equals any in the United States returns of 

 1850. Kamtz limits the growth of Indian corn in Europe, to 

 Rochelle, in France, on the Atlantic coast, and to Strasburg on 

 the Rhine, and they appear to have very nearly the precise 



