USES OF CORN 89 



practically all plants as they are the agents which promote plant 

 growth. Additional evidence has been obtained by fermenting silage 

 and even corn juice in the presence of antiseptics showing that plant 

 enzymes are active in silage fermentation, but that they are not 

 the only active agents in the process." 



USES OF CORN 



The principal reason corn has such extensive cultivation is due 

 to its great value as stock feed, and that it yields) more grain per 

 acre than any other cereal. The great development of- the fat stock 

 industry in the Middle West is due largely to the supply of corn 

 for feed. 



Perhaps nine-tenths of the corn crop is fed directly to stock. 

 The other one-tenth is manufactured into a great variety of products, 

 but mostly food products. The three most important uses of corn 

 in the arts is the manufacture of glucose, cereal foods, and alcohol. 



Glucose is made by first degerminating the corn, then treating 

 the starchy portion with dilute hydrochloric acid, which converts the 

 starch to glucose. 



Cereal foods are of two classes, as the ( 1 ) corn meal and hominy 

 products, and the (2) cooked and flaked "breakfast" foods. Corn 

 meal is made in two ways. The whole corn may be ground and only 

 the coarse parts, consisting largely of bran, sifted out. This meal 

 contains considerable germ. The germ meal present gives its own 

 flavor, which is rather agreeable but makes the meal more difficult 

 to keep. Degerminated meal is made by cracking and removing 

 the germ. The cracked product, after germ and hull are removed, 

 is called hominy. This coarse hominy may be sold in this way, or 

 ground further into meal. This is commonly called "fancy " meal, 

 and is the kind most commonly on the market. 



Flaked cereal foods are made by cooking the hominy, then rolling 

 out into thin flakes, and further cooking in a dry oven. 



Starch is made by first removing germs, grinding fine, and then 

 washing the starch out by water. 



The germs, removed in the manufacture of glucose, meal, or 

 starch, are usually pressed until all the oil is extracted. This oil is 

 used as a salad oil, in paints, or is vulcanized as a substitute for 



