Edible Products. 



208 



[March, 1912. 



maize, and not under a Government 

 certificate placing it under a grade 

 higher than that which it deserves. It 

 has been found necessary in almost 

 every trade or industry that markets 

 should be found not only for the first 

 and second qualities of the products, 

 but also for the third grades, the 

 damaged portions, and the by-products 

 in such trades. And in so far as the 

 maize trade is concerned the same oppor- 

 tunity should be given to those pro- 

 ducers and dealers who are unfortun- 

 ately in possession of maize which has 

 become damaged, perhaps through no 

 fault of theirs, to enable them to export 

 such maize if they choose to take the 

 risk and they find they cannot dispose 

 of it locally, but stringent regulations 

 should be made that any maize to be 

 exported, found to be in a "weevily" 

 "musty," "damp," or other unsound 

 conditions should be sold as such ; and 

 that both the Government Graders' 

 certificate and the shippers' bill 

 of lading be endorsed " weevily," 

 " musty," " damp," or otherwise ; and 

 further that such damaged maize be 

 not shipped in the same holds or in near 

 proximity to sound South African maize. 

 If weevily maize is exported and sold as 

 " weevily maize," and no Government 

 certificate is given to the shipper placing 

 it in any grade other than weevily, it 

 cannot damage the good name of South 

 African maize on the oversea markets, 

 and if it is not placed in the same hold 

 or in the same ship it cannot damage 

 sound South African maize. Most other 

 countries ship damaged maize, they are 

 well-kuown articles of commerce on 

 the European markets, prices are made 

 and uses are found for them. If growers 

 cannot dispose of their damaged maize 

 to those who choose to buy it, and who 

 can find a use for it, they will not 

 during unfavourable seasons make their 

 industry pay. 



Space does not permit me to deal with 

 the uses to which different classes of 

 maize are put in Europe, nor do I feel 

 justified in dealing with the different 

 named breeds of maize; it will be suffi- 

 cient for me to advise producers to aim 

 at producing a good sound plump clean 

 mealie containing lots of food irrespect- 

 ive of breed, always bearing in mind 

 your local conditions and particularly 

 the yield per acre, which is the most 

 important of all, its capacity to with- 

 stand drought and resist diseases, and 

 experience will teach you which breed 

 is the most profitable to produce, 



RICE ALLY CROPS. 



By O. W. Barrett, 



Chief of the Division of Experiment 

 Stations, 



(Prom the Philippine Agricultural 

 Review, Vol. IV., No. 11, November, 1911.) 



There is always grave danger in the 

 one-crop system. No farmer in any 

 country, unless conditions are excep- 

 tionally favourable can afford to risk his 

 future welfare and present prosperity on 

 the basis of a single crop, since naturally 

 that crop is always more or less under 

 the influence of great fluctuations in 

 demand, of severe changes in climate, and 

 of injurious fungus or insect pests. The 

 rice shortage, which at present so 

 seriously affects not only the Philippines 

 but all the countries from Shanghai to 

 Sumatra, serves as an illustration of 

 this principle. In the Philippines, how- 

 ever, this shortage is undoubtedly more 

 severe in its effects upon the poorer 

 classes than in countries like Cochin 

 China, Annam, and eastern China, where 

 ally, or auxiliary, crops greatly relieve 

 the situation. In nearly all the countries 

 of the Par East, with the exception of 

 the Philippines and perhaps the East 

 Indies, soy beans and sorghum enter 

 largely into the daily ration of the 

 people throughout the greater part of 

 the year. Maize is, to some extent, also 

 coming to be a crop of considerable im- 

 portance especially in northern China, 

 but in none of the Par Eastern countries 

 is this most potentially valuable of all 

 known cereals used to the extent it 

 deserves. The conservative spirit evi- 

 denced towards new foods, not only in 

 the Far East but in all parts of the 

 world, is largely responsible for the lack 

 of interest in maize especially, and to a 

 greater or less extent in several other 

 cereals and legumes. 



Maize. 



When we reflect that outside of the 

 Western Hemisphere and Europe there 

 are comparatively few agricultural 

 peoples who know how to plant corn, 

 and still fewer who know how to prepare 

 it for the table, we can appreciate, in a 

 measure, the deplorable disfavour with 

 which this king of the cereals has been 

 regarded. But times are changing, how- 

 ever, and within a few years it is very 

 likely that maize in its many types will 

 very largely replace such cereals as rice, 

 barley, etc., covering, as thase types do, 

 a great range in agronomic possibilities — 

 some being adapted to very hot and 

 moist regions and requiring six to eight 

 months to mature, others adapted to 



