CHAP. 

 XI. 



484 



MAIZE 



left will not be 10 per cent but ,1 1 '67 per cent. But 75 lbs. 

 of dry matter, plus 15 lbs. of water lost, plus 1 1 67 per cent 

 moisture remaining, equals 101 '67, or 1 '67 more than the 

 original weight. The discrepancy is due to the fact that the 

 1 1 '67 per cent of moisture remaining in the sample is not 

 1 1 '67 per cent of the original 100 lbs., but of the 85 lbs. total 

 weight left after partial drying. 



457. Storage in the Husk. — In order to keep the grain 

 until market conditions are favourable for its disposal, the 

 methods of storing to preserve it from depredation by vermin, 



Fig. 182. — Maize on the husk, stored in a pear-tree, by Coloured people, 

 Swellendam District. 



etc., vary according to the climate and the materials available 

 for the construction of stores. In the Bush-veld of Swaziland 

 the natives leave the ears in the husk, till required for use, and 

 hang them in the branches of trees near the kraal or garden 

 (Fig. 181). 



The same method is practised by the Coloured people of 

 the Cape Province (Fig. 182). 



Among white people in South Africa it is not customary to 

 leave the maize in the husk, owing to the danger of sweating 

 and rotting if it is left in uncovered heaps in the field, and to 

 the greater space required when stored. 



