Photograph by < >. F. C 



A CROSS-SECTION OF A TERRACE 



This part of a ruined terrace shows how the 

 gardens were constructed. At this point the 

 retaining wall had been carried away, except a 

 little at the lower left-hand corner, thus ex- 

 posing the material behind the wall and allow- 

 ing its arrangement to he seen. Two distinct 

 strata are apparent, coarse stones and clay 

 below, with tine agricultural soil above. 



ancient graves, but by the fact that the 

 type of maize that furnishes the bulk of 

 the Peruvian crop is peculiar to that 

 region. The question is not merely of 

 varieties, which are very numerous in 

 both continents, but of a whole series of 

 varieties very unlike any that are known 

 from Central America or Mexico. 



This Peruvian maize, or Cuzco corn, 

 as it has been called in the United States, 

 is characterized by the very large kernels, 

 some of them nearly an inch broad, al- 

 most the size of chestnuts. The large 

 kernels are an advantage from the stand- 

 point of the natives of Peru, who are 



accustomed to eating corn a kernel at a 

 time. The usual method of cooking corn, 

 and everything else in Peru, is by boiling, 

 the reason being probably that more fuel 

 would be required for roasting or parch- 

 ing. Fuel is very scarce and expensive 

 in all of the populous districts of Peru. 



PERUVIAN CORN MAY HELP US 



In the United States the large kernels 

 would be of less importance, but the 

 Peruvian type of maize may prove inter- 

 esting in another way. The fact that the 

 Cuzco corn is the only type grown ex- 

 tensively on the high slopes and table- 

 lands may mean that it is more suited to 

 cool climates than other sorts of maize. 

 The large kernels have attracted the 

 attention of travelers, and numerous at- 

 tempts have been made to introduce the 

 Cuzco corn into the United States. Bay- 

 ard Taylor raised a few plants in Penn- 

 sylvania as far back as 1865 from seeds 

 brought home by Squier, the well-known 

 writer on Peru.* Such experiments with 

 the Cuzco corn in the United States have 

 given a completely misleading impression 

 regarding the habits of the plant. 



The usual behavior of the Cuzco corn 

 in the United States is to produce plants 

 of enormous size that mature very little 

 seed, often none at all. It has been taken 

 for granted that the size of the plants 

 should be in proportion to the enormous 

 kernels, and that our seasons were not 

 long enough to permit this type of corn 

 to mature. 



But in Peru one does not see these 

 gigantic, infertile plants, nor any indica- 

 tion that the corn crop requires a large 

 amount of heat to bring it to maturity. 

 The impression one gets from the Peru- 

 vian corn-fields is that the plants are not 

 taller than with us and rather more slen- 

 der, the most striking peculiarity being 

 the prevailing red color of the foliage. 

 The best development and largest ears of 

 the Cuzco corn are found in some of the 

 higher valleys, at elevations between 

 9,000 and 11,000 feet, in districts where 

 the summer climate is cooler than in any 

 of the corn - growing regions of the 

 United States. 



Thus it becomes apparent that the pos- 

 sibility of utilizing the Cuzco type of corn 

 in the United States is still practically un- 



*American Agriculturist, 40: 9, January, i88r. 



;o8 



