December, 1908.] 



523 



Edible Products. 



acknowledged authority on foods, and 

 in one of his reports he says :— " Food to 

 be perfect must give to the body all the 

 necessary constituents to supply tissues 

 for its growth, and to take the place of 

 the waste of tissue which is a necessary 

 attendant on the functions of life. The 

 article of food which is best calculated 

 to supply the wants above-mentioned 

 would be of necessity the most valuable 

 for food purposes. In general, we may 

 say of food that they should be fat- 

 producers, muscle-producers, bone-pro- 

 ducers, and, most of all, blood-producers, 

 since it is through the blood that the 

 tissues of the body are nourished." 

 Meal from Indian corn is said to contain 

 " more than four times as much olea- 

 ginous matter as wheat flour, more 

 starch, and nearly as much nitrogenous 

 material." The combination of element- 

 ary compounds in maize renders it alone 

 the mixed diet capable of sustaining 

 man under the most extraordinary 

 circumstances. It holds the elementary 

 principles, says an authority, which 

 constitutes 



THE BASIS OF ORGANIC LIFE. 



Maize is the staple and peculiar food 

 crop of the United States, although it is 

 also grown in many other countries ; but 

 there it is harvested by thousands of 

 millions of bushels per annum. The 

 varieties of maize are numerous and are 

 continually increasing by improvement 

 and may be divided into two kinds, 

 namely, table maize and farm maize, the 

 one used for table purposes and the other 

 for flour and cattle food. Boiled in the 

 cob in the unripe state and eaten with 

 butter at table as is done in America it 

 makes a delicious article of food. In the 

 several forms of husked corn, pop corn, 

 hominy succatash, mush, maizena, corn 

 starch or arrowroot, etc, vast quantities 

 are consumed by all classes of people in 

 America. There is a large number of 

 dishes of which corn meal forms the 

 basis, which are exceedingly palatable. 

 It has been said of maize that it was as 

 indispensable to the Yankee as the 

 potato to an Irishman, or the oat to a 

 Scotsman ; that there is no crop more 

 beneficial to the farmer than Indian 

 corn ; that it is the meat, meadow and 

 manure crop of the farm ; that its value 

 in fattening domestic animals is not 

 exceeded by any other product of the 

 farm. The uses of Indian corn are very 

 numerous. 



NOTHING OF THE PLANT IS WASTED. 



When very young we are told the small 

 young stalks of thickly sown crops are 

 cut over by the Mexicans as an article 

 for the dessert ; and boiled green corn as 

 an article of diet must be known to be 

 realised. The grain, besides providing 



bread and cake, is used in the manu- 

 facture of beer, whisky (largely distilled 

 in America) and oil (for culinary, burn- 

 ing and lubricating). The stem contains 

 a crystallizable sugar, at one time largely 

 manufactured by the Mexicans. The 

 leaves may be used as a green manure 

 or made into straw ; and the sheathing 

 can be made into cloth and paper of 

 excellent quality. The husks of the ears 

 are used in America for stuffing 

 mattresses, bolsters, etc., and it is a 

 material always clean and elastic. The 

 empty cobs are used as a source of fuel, 

 and the whole plant when burnt yields 

 fine potash. As regards cultivation, 

 maize can be profitably grown on the 

 poorest soil, but the better the soil the 

 better the crop. Well manured— cattle 

 manure gives the most excellent results, 

 while decayed leaves, ashes, tank mud 

 well dried, may also be used with great 

 advantage— no crop pays better than 

 maize. Pests of the field are very fond 

 of the grain and consume a large per- 

 centage, bandicoot rats, squirrels, crows, 

 destroying the seed as it lies in the 

 ground. The seeds should be tarred 

 before sowing. To H- pts. of hot water 

 add 1/12 part of a pint of tar, mix to- 

 gether, and after it is cool pour the solu- 

 tion over the seed. After dusting sand, 

 ashes or saw-dust to prevent the seeds 

 adhering together, the grain is ready 

 for sowing. Keep down the weeds 

 during growth ; and see that the cobs 

 are well matured before being gathered. 



HORTUS. 



—Ceylon Independent. 6th Nov., 1908. 



RICE CULTIVTION IN HAWAII. 



Rice is the agricultural product of 

 second importance in Hawaii, coming 

 next to sugar— although far below it — 

 in magnitude and value. The rice area 

 extends over more than 1,000 acres, and 

 is carried on chiefly by small proprietors 

 and holders. The largest plantations 

 are not more than 100 acres in extent, 

 and the rentals of rice lands are high, 

 rauging from $10 to $50 per acre per 

 annum, including the provision of faci- 

 lities for water supply. The fact that 

 remunerative returns can be obtained 

 after payment of the above rentals 

 indicates the profitable nature of the 

 industry. 



Careful and continuous cultivation is 

 practised, and the crop yields obtained 

 in Hawaii compare favourably with 

 those given in other rice-growiug coun- 

 tries of the world. Two crops a year 

 are usually grown on the same land, 

 thus occupying the ground continuously, 

 especially when slow-maturing varieties 



