MAIZE 



CHAP. 

 I. 



lation, which is said {Hunt, I) to be the heaviest rate of 

 consumption of any cereal by any people in the world ; it is 

 nearly twice as much, according to population, as the con- 

 sumption in Europe of all the other cereals. 



Maize is one of the easiest crops to grow, standing more 

 rough usage than perhaps any other ; a favourite Kaffir method 

 of planting is to scatter the seed broadcast over the unbroken 

 veld and then plough the ground ; even with this crude treat- 

 ment crops of U to 2 muids 1 of grain per acre are obtained. 







Fig. i. — A field of maize on the Demonstration Farms of Messrs. John 

 Fowler & Co. (Leeds), Ltd., at Vereeniging, Traansvaal. 



Davis (2), writing of maize and wheat in Argentina, points out 

 that not only are they the two cereals requiring the least amount 

 of capital, expense, and labour for their production, but that 

 there is always an assured and immediate demand for them in 

 the market. 



The farm value of maize must not be calculated solely on 

 the yield of grain, important as that is, for its total yield per acre 

 of vegetable matter is larger than that of almost any other 



1 muid = 200 lbs. avoirdupois. 



