430 [Assembly 



enabled to perform their full portion of labor, are exceedingly hardy 

 and require but little care; and that the inhabitants of the countries 

 where it forms a large share of their food, arc, for the most part, 

 strong, healthy, and long lived. The investigations of vegetable 

 chemistry, however, have more recent'ly revealed to us many impor- 

 tant and interesting tacts on these points, yet our knowledge on the 

 subject is far from being complete. 



According to Marrabelli's analysis of Zea mays, made twenty or 

 thirty years ago, it contains a saccharine matter of different degrees 

 of purity, from which alcohol, the oxalic and acetous acids, may be 

 obtained; a vegetable amylaceous substance; a glutinous substance; 

 muriate and nitrate of magnesia; carbonates of potash, lime, and of 

 magnesia; and iron. 



According to the analysis of M. Payen, maize consists.of the fol- 

 lowing ingredients: One hundred parts by weight yielded. 



Starch, 28.4 



Nitrogenized matter, - 4.8 



Fattymatter (oil), 35.6 



Coloring matter, - - -- 0.2 



Cellular tissue, 20.0 



Dextrine, 2.0 



Various salts, 7.2 



Loss, 1.8 



100.0 



The proportion of oil is evidently overrated in this analysis, and 

 the error is attributed by Dr. Jackson to the solubility of the zeine 

 or gluten of the corn in ether, which Payen used to dissolve the oil. 

 The gluten being taken up by this process, was mistaken for oil and 

 credited in the analysis as such, when it should have been put under 

 the head of nitrogenized matter. It is not surprising,, he remarks, 

 that M. Dumas, in quoting tliis analysis, should observe that " indi- 

 viduals who eat corn for some time, present symptoms of an accumu- 

 lation of fat in their tissue, which will not appear astonishing, when 

 we consider that a bushel of corn would yield a quart (litre) of oil!" 

 If this doctrine were true, those Americans who derive a great part 

 of their subsistence from Indian corn, would be an excessively fat 

 people. 



