34 THE USES OF PLANTS. 



native of Central Asia, is used in the United States 

 for making cakes, but is imported and grown in this 

 country as food for pheasants. 



MAIZE or INDIAN CORN (Zea Mays, L.), a native of 

 North America, is now largely cultivated in South 

 Europe. Though it will ripen its fruit in England, it 

 can only be relied on as a green fodder crop. When 

 pearled it is called ' samp ;' when split, ' hominy ;' 

 and when ground and boiled, ' mush ' in the United 

 States, and ' polenta ' in Italy. Our importation of 

 maize as food for human beings, horses, poultry, etc., 

 now reaches 2 million tons. The sheathing leaves of 

 the cobs are used in South Europe for packing 

 oranges. 



RlCE (Oryza sativa, L.), a native of India, is grown 

 extensively in China, in Carolina, Central America, 

 and even in the South of Russia, and is said to 

 furnish food to one-third of the human race. We 

 import it in enormous quantities, for food and for the 

 manufacture of starch, from Bengal, especially Patna 

 and Dacca, from Arracan and from Carolina, retaining 

 nearly 200,000 tons, or upwards of 10 Ib. per head, for 

 home consumption. When in the husk it is known 

 as l paddy.' 



MANNA CROUP is the ' groats/ or decorticated and 

 partly crushed grains, of Glyceria fluitans^ R. Br., a 

 common grass, imported in small quantities from 

 Russia, especially Poland. 



Among other farinaceous substances* mention may 

 be made of the grass known as CANADIAN RICE 



* 'Pharm. Journ.,' ser. iii, vol. iii (1873), P- 8 33- 



