CHAPTER XIV. 



MAIZE GRAIN AS FOOD. 1 



Gave the first feast of Mondamin, 

 And made known unto the people 

 This new gift of the Great Spirit. 



— Hiawatha. 



627. The Uses of Maize Grain. — After considering the chap. 

 vast production of maize and the enormous commercial XIV - 

 interests involved in handling the crop, the question naturally _j 

 arises, what is all this grain used for ? The principal uses of 

 maize grain are: (1) for human food, ground into meal and 

 other products ; for this purpose white maize is usually pre- 

 ferred in Europe and South Africa, and yellow in North and 

 South America ; (2) as a source of alcoholic beverages ; (3) for 

 stock food, either whole or crushed, or ground ; yellow maize 



is preferred for this purpose ; (4) in the arts and manufactures, 

 for which cheap, damaged grain, either yellow or white, is 

 largely used. 



In the course of preparation for human food and for 

 manufacture, certain by-products are obtained which are also 

 used, in addition to the whole or crushed grain, for stock food. 



For Human Food. 



628. Maize the Staple Foodstuff of the American Abo- 

 rigines. — The earliest European explorers of America found 

 the Indian tribes cultivating maize as their principal cereal. 

 Longfellow's poem Hiawatha gives an insight into the im- 

 portance of the place held by maize in the life of the American 

 Indians, and the legends which they wove around it. 



1 In this chapter has also been included a discussion of the uses of the juice 

 of the maize stalk for the preparation of sugar and syrup. 



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