398 



LUPINE 



MAIZE 



albus), the yellow (L. luteus, Pig. 595, adapted from 

 Botanical Magazine), the blue (L. hirsutus), and 

 the Egyptian (L. termis). Of these, the yellow 

 lupine is used most extensively, the blue and white 

 lupines being next in importance. In parts of the 

 West, a number of species, notably L. leucophyllus 

 and L. sericeus, grow wild in great luxuriance and 

 are cut for hay. The numerous American native 

 species are of considerable value on the ranges, 

 many of them being eaten readily both by sheep 

 and cattle. Some danger attends the feeding of 

 this hay, especially to sheep, owing to the pres- 

 ence of a poisonous alkaloid in the seed. [Consult 

 Vol. III.] 



The cultivated lupines have been tested at many 

 of the American experiment stations, mostly with 

 decidedly unsatisfactory results. Only on the Pacific 

 coast have the cultivated lupines appeared at all 

 promising as green-manure crops, and even there 

 other legumes are more satisfactory. Up to the 

 present time, none of the species has become espe- 

 cially valuable in the United States. It is not at 

 all unlikely, however, when it shall become prof- 

 itable to build up some of the sandy soils in the 

 West, that one or more of the European species 

 may prove valuable. One of the species, native to 

 California (L. affinis), has been grown there as a 

 green-manure crop and compares favorably with 

 the European species. 



Culture. 



Soil. — A sandy, well-drained soil is essential, as 

 the plants will not grow on wet land, and are par- 

 ticularly averse to limestone soils. Their greatest 

 value is on poor, sandy soils that will not grow 

 anything else. On the other hand, it was found at 

 the California station that lupines would tolerate 

 much more lime on clay soils than on sandy soils. 

 It is said that the large blue lupine (L.pilosus, var. 

 ccsruteus) and the pink lupine (L. pilosus, var. roseus) 

 are adapted to limestone soils. 



Fertilizers. — Potash salts give the most beneficial 

 results, although the addition of phosphates with 

 the potash is profitable. Superphosphates have 

 given detrimental results and should not be applied 

 to the soil on which the lupines are to be sown. 



Seeding. — Lupine seed is usually sown at the 

 rate of eighty to one hundred pounds per acre in 

 drills ten to fifteen inches apart. If broadcasted, 

 nearly double this quantity is required. The seed 

 should be sown after the ground is warm, the early 

 part of May or June being the usual time. The 

 plants grow rapidly and are ready to plow under 

 in the early part of August, by which time they 

 will have developed seed and will contain the maxi- 

 mum amount of nitrogen. 



Place in the rotation. — If used in a rotation, espe- 

 cially on lands that are being built up, it is prefer- 

 able to follow lupines with winter rye. In this case, 

 at least a month should be allowed to elapse after 

 the lupines are plowed under, before the rye is sown. 



Utilizing the crop. 



The native American species are pastured 

 throughout the growing season. If cut for hay. 



it should not be harvested until the pods have 

 ripened and burst open and scattered their seed. 

 This occurs the latter part of August or first of 

 September. 



The seed of the cultivated species is very rich 

 in protein and is used in Europe to some extent 

 as feed. The feeding value is much lessened by 

 the presence of a bitter alkaloid which is injurious 

 to animals, especially to sheep. Before feeding 

 the seed, it is necessary to remove some of the 

 alkaloid by soaking or boiling. One method is to 

 boil the seeds for one hour and then to wash them 

 for twenty-four hours in running water. This re- 

 sults in a loss of about one-sixth of the dry, 

 principally non-proteid matter. The disembittered 

 seed is then fed in much the same way as oil 

 cake. 



MAIZE, OR INDIAN CORN. Zea Mays, Linn. 

 Gramineoe. Figs. 596-648. 



By John W. Harshberger. 



Maize or Indian corn is a grass that is grown 

 both for its grain and its herbage, which are used 

 for food. The grain is used whole or ground, 

 and in various preparations for both human and 

 stock-food. The herbage is a forage used for soil- 

 ing, silage or as dried 

 and cured fodder. 

 Various manufac- 

 tured products are 

 made from maize. 

 The plant is annual, 

 dying each year, even 

 in its original semi- 

 tropical, home in 

 Mexico. It is the 

 most important and 

 most distinctive 

 American crop. The 

 word "maize" is de- 

 rived from the Hay- 

 tian word "mahiz," 

 the name by which 

 Indian corn or maize 

 was called when Co- 

 lumbus found it growing on the island of Hayti. 

 Mahiz, or marisi, is said to be an Arawak Indian 

 word of South American origin. In North America 

 the word " corn," used generically in England for 

 bread grains, more particularly for wheat, is em- 

 ployed specifically for maize. The word has no 

 other application than to maize in this country. 

 It is common, however, to speak of the plant as 

 Indian corn. 



Origin of maize. 



The writer has presented elsewhere the proofs 

 of the Mexican origin of maize [see Literature, 

 page 427]. Maize relates itself botanically to a na- 

 tive Mexican grass, teosinte {Eudhlmna Mexicana, 

 which see), and fertile hybrids of this grass and 

 maize are known, producing a plant described by 

 Watson as Zea canina. From the peculiar beha- 

 vior of these hybrids, the writer has suggested 



Fig. 596. Botanical parts of the 

 kernel of maize and its integu- 

 ments, a, embryo; &, matiire 

 ovary; c, second glume ; d, first 

 glume; e, palea; f, lemma; g, 

 sterile palea. 



