4 MAIZE 



CHAP. Kaffir crop, and that maize-growing does not pay the more 



'' ambitious white farmer. We hope to show in the following 



pages that, except where abnormal economic or unfavourable 



climatic conditions prevail, this is not the case when the crop 



is grown properly. 



2. What the American Fanner Thinks of It. — In view of 

 the fact that the United States produces 820,000,000 muids of 

 maize per annum — three-quarters of the world's crop — and that 

 this is not grown with cheap "native" labour, it may be well 

 to look for a moment at the attitude of the American farmer 

 towards the maize crop. In the United States it is a common 

 saying that "Corn is King". "Corn " in America is maize. 



The American farmer has earned the reputation of being a 

 shrewd business man who does not conservatively stick to a 

 crop whether it continues to pay or not, because his fore- 

 fathers grew it ; if anything, he is inclined to change too 

 rapidly, and to "scrap" anything which he considers unprofit- 

 able. If maize did not pa)' he would soon drop it ; but we 

 find on the contrary that he has 108,750,000 acres under 

 maize although, in 1906, his maize crop paid him only 5s. I id. 

 per muid, and in 1896 the farm price was only 3s. i-id. per muid. 



3. Maize is the Leading Product of America. — Mr. T. N. 

 Carver (1), Professor of Economics in Harvard University, 

 boldly states, and then proceeds to demonstrate, that maize 

 is the leading product of the United States of America 

 and maize-growing its leading industry. Not only is it 

 grown more extensively than any other cereal, but the maize 

 crop of the United States considerably exceeds in value that 

 of wheat and cotton combined. No other American product 

 or group of products equals it in value. In 1899 the- value 

 was greater by about .£5,000,000 (five million pounds sterling) 

 than that of all the products of the great iron and steel 

 industry. It is the staple grain crop in most of the States of 

 the Union, and its culture maintains a larger number of 

 American people than any other industry. We hear much 

 about the American wheat crop, but comparison of American 

 crops of wheat and maize shows that where the total value to 

 the farmer of a crop of wheat is $9-07 (.£1 17s. iod.) per acre, 

 the maize crop is worth $14-56 (£3 os. 8d.) ; or, if we add 

 the value of the straw, stover, or fodder, the relative values are : 



