69S MAIZE 



CHAP, also, extracted a sort of honey from the maize stalk, and adds 

 XIV - that:- 



" The saccharine matter contained in the maize stalk is much 

 greater in tropical countries than in more northern latitudes, 

 so that the natives in the former may be seen sometimes 

 sucking it like the sugar cane ". 



In South America alcoholic drinks, called chica and 

 pulque de mahiz, are said to be prepared from the saccharine 

 juice of the maize stem. 



654. Fermentation Products of the Grain.— The large quan- 

 tity of starch present in maize-grain renders it particularly 

 suitable for the preparation of alcoholic liquors. 



After cleaning and crushing the grain, the hull and embryo 

 are removed. The remainder is then ground and cooked to 

 dissolve the starch. The starch is fermented with 10 per cent 

 of barley-malt and yeast, and 40 gallons of water per bushel 

 of grain. The enzymes of the malt change the starch into 

 sugar, and the yeast plants {Saccharomyces), feeding upon the 

 latter, deposit alcohol as a waste-product. The alcohol is 

 evaporated off from the remaining water, etc., and is then con- 

 densed over cold coils. The residue left in the fermenting 

 tanks is washed to remove any alcohol left, and pressed to 

 take out as much as possible of the liquid. The latter is known 

 as "distillery slop," while the more solid portion is called "dis- 

 tiller's grains " ; both are used for stock food (IT 676 and 677). 



The preparation of alcoholic drinks from maize was prac- 

 tised by the aborigines of America in prehistoric times ; for 

 although, according to Bruce (1), the Indians of Virginia had 

 no knowledge of the use of spirits at the time of the advent 

 of the "pale-face," Prescott (2) tells us that the Incas of Peru 

 made an intoxicating liquor from fermented maize-grain, to 

 which, like the Aztecs of Mexico, they were immoderately 

 addicted. " One kind of the fermented liquors, sora, made 

 from the corn [maize] was of such strength that the use of it 

 was forbidden by the Incas, at least to the common people. 

 Their injunctions do not seem to have been obeyed so implicitly 

 in this instance as usual." In some parts of South America, 

 we are informed, a kind of beer called chica or maize beer is 

 made from the grain {Moloney, 1). 



The African native has long been accustomed to brew 



