418 [Assembly 



in extent, carrying no other food than a little meal from parched 

 and pounded corn, relying on the forest for meat. One tablespoonful 

 of this meal, mixed with a little sugar and water, will sustain a 

 warrior for twenty-four hours, without meat. 



In further proof of the American origin of maize, it may be sta- 

 ted, that it is still found in an indigenous state, from the Rocky 

 Mountains, in North America, to the humid forests of Paraguay; 

 •where, instead of having each grain naked, as is always the case 

 after long cultivation, they are completely covered with glumes or 

 husks. Although there has been much written upon the Eastern' 

 origin of this grain, it did not grow in that part of India watered 

 by the Indus, at the time of Alexander the Great's expedition, as it 

 is not mentioned by Nearchus, the commander of the fleet, among 

 the productions of that country. It is not noticed by Arrian, Dio- 

 dorus, or Columella; and even so late as the year 1471, Joan. Cuba, 

 in his " Ortus Sanitatis," a very curious medical work on plants, 

 trees, animals, stones, &c., does not make the least mention of it. 

 Neither has it ever been found in any ancient tumulus, sarcophagus, 

 or pyramid; nor has it ever been represented in any ancient painting, 

 sculpture, or w'ork of art, except in America! But in this country, 

 according to Garcilasso, the palace gardens of the Incas in Pcfu, 

 were ornamented with images of gold and silver, of all manner of 

 beasts, birds, trees, flowers, and fruit. Some of the trees appeared 

 in blossom, some with their fruit partially or fully grown, and in 

 others it appeared quite ripe, according to the several seasons of the 

 year. They also imitated the maize, with all its grains, spikes, 

 stalks, and leaves; and in one instance, in the " Garden of Gold 

 and Silver," there was an entire cornfield, of considerable size, re- 

 presented with the corn in its exact and natural shape. 



The introduction of maize into Europe, probably dates back to 

 the time soon after Columbus discovered America; but little atten- 

 tion appears to have been paid there, either to its culture or use, 

 until toward the close of the last century. An amusing, and in 

 many respects an instructive work, was published some years since 

 by William Cobbett, upon the merits of Indian corn, whose sanguine 

 wishes upon the subject of its introduction as a field crop into Eng- 

 land, led him farther than most people have been inclined to accom- 

 pany him. A coteraporary writer reznarks, that "Cobbett was corn 

 mad at one time. He saw too soon by twenty years, and depended 

 on cultivation rather than importation. He wrote about Indian corn, 

 planted Indian corn, raised Indian corn, ate Indian corn, made paper 

 of Indian corn husks, and printed a book from the Indian corn pa- 



