tifacture of alcohol, whisky, glucose, oil, 

 pancake flour, and starch. Corn starch, 

 which is the official starch in the U. S. 

 Pharmacopeia, is used in laundrying, in 

 the manufacture of dextrin, as an article 

 of diet, etc. Groimd corn, from which 

 the gluten or proteid matter has been re- 

 mo^•ed, is known as oswego, maizena, or 

 corn flour. 



Corn (in the ear or shelled) is one of 

 the staple foods for horses, hogs, cattle 

 and poultry. Corn meal is fed to little 

 chickens, ducks, turkeys and other young 

 of the domestic fowl group. In the tree- 

 less western plains maize is often grown 

 for fuel. It is stated that lOO bushels 

 of ears is equal in heating power to one 

 cord of the best hard wood. The cobs 

 form an excellent fuel and are often the 

 only fuel used by the farmers of the cen- 

 tral states. Every one has heard of the 

 cob pipe made from a portion of the cob 

 by simply removing the pithy, soft pulp 

 and drilling a lateral hole for the pipe 

 stem. Every farmer lad has" made a 

 "corn stalk fiddle" from the stalk. Hunt- 

 ers, in the spring make rude huts out of 

 corn stalks, for protection and to hide 

 them from their game. Corn stalks are 

 used by farmers to form a protective 

 thatching for sides and tops of cattle 

 sheds, etc. 



Corn figiires extensively in myth and 

 folk lore. The myth of the origin of 

 maize is beautifullv told bv Longfellow 



against further misfortune. 



in Hiawatha (V), of which the closing 

 verse is given above. To dream of 

 plucking ears of corn signifies the ex- 

 istence of secret enemies. To find a red 

 ear (a nature freak) is said to signify 

 good luck. Corn stalks scattered about 

 a house in which death has entered are 

 a charm 

 Ears of corn symbolize plenty. 



In the cultivation of corn the farmer 

 of the United States has to contend with 

 various enemies. The army worm (Lu- 

 cania unipuncta) has destroyed large 

 crops. There is a bacterium described by 

 Burrill of the Illinois Experiment Sta- 

 tion which causes a disease of the grow- 

 ing plants, smut (corn smut, a fungus) 

 attacks the developing grain, often be- 

 ing the cause of poisoning cattle who 

 feed upon the diseased corn. The great- 

 est enemy, which is, however, not con- 

 stant in occurrence, are the chinch bugs 

 which attack large fields of growing corn 

 in enormous numbers. Some years ago 

 the writer discovered the presence of 

 numerous plant lice ( aphis 1 on the roots 

 of young corn plants in Illinois. Rats 

 and mice often prove a nuisance to stored 

 corn. As a rule, however, the corn crop 

 in the central states east of the Missis- 

 sippi is quite secure, since the soil has 

 been under cultivation for a number of 

 years. Excessive draught and excessive 

 rainfall interfere greatly with the corn 

 crop. 



Albert Schneider. 



TREASURES 



Jade and emerald waters, 

 Diamonds of the spray, 



Turn to gleaming rubies 

 At the close of day. 



These become at noontide 

 Lapis lazuli ; 



All these gems we quarry 



From a shining sea. 



— ISABELL.\ Howe Fiske. 



192 



