2 CORN 



Switzerland and Hungary, and from Hungary to Austria and eastern 

 Europe. From Switzerland it was taken into the valley of the Rhine, 

 and from Portugal corn was introduced into Asia. 



Indian corn entered into the mythological andj;eligious ceremonies 

 of the Indians, both of South and North America, long before they 

 were disturbed by civilization. When the white man came to live I 

 among them they told him how to select the best ears for seed and 

 how and when to plant it. To be sure, their methods were very crude. 

 Since the land was covered by a dense forest it was necessary first 

 that this should be cleared away. This the Indians did by burning a 

 ring around the base of the trunk of the tree and by scraping away the 

 charred bits until the tree could be blown over. Often, however, they 

 would first girdle the tree with a rough stone axe and allow it to die 

 before burning was attempted. When spring came, the squaw, who 

 did the most of this work, proceeded to plant the corn. With a sharp 

 stick she made holes in the ground about four feet apart, and after 

 putting a fish or several crawfish into each hole she planted the seed on 

 top of this and covered it over with soil. The fish were used as 

 fertilizer. In the fall the corn was picked and stored away in pits dug 

 in the ground. Such then, we are led to believe, were the methods 

 adopted by our forefathers when they began farming on our native 

 soil. 



The first successful attempt of the English to cultivate corn in 

 North America was in 1608, along the James river in Virginia. A year 

 or two later it is said that as much as thirty acres of corn were culti- 

 vated there. It is recorded that as early as 1650 corn to the extent of 

 600 bushels was exported from Savannah, and by 1770 the amount 

 exported from this same place had reached 13,598 bushels. However, 

 during the period intervening numerous exportations are recorded 

 ranging from 10,000 to 250,000 bushels, so we know that even at this 

 early date more corn was raised than was needed for home consump- 

 tion. In 1770 the total amount exported from the colonies was 

 578,349 bushels, and in 1800, 2,032,435 bushels were exported. By this 

 we see that the development during this period was very rapid, at 

 least considering the fact that agricultural implements were little 

 known, and that there were no transportation facilities to speak of. 

 The main increase in production was the result of increased acreage. 



As to the origin of the corn plant itself, some botanists have en- 

 deavored to show that Teosinte, a rank-growing forage plant, is its 

 progenitor. Teosinte is a native Mexican plant and is called by 

 Watson "Zea canina." Recently Montgomery has expressed a similar 



