PRODUCTION VARIOUS USES OF CORN. 



55 



The present corn production of Mexico is not accurately deter- 

 mined, but it is estimated that it is the chief subsistence of at least 

 five millions of persons, whilst it supplies the only fodder for all 

 kinds of domestic animals. Its average product must therefore be 

 not far from at least twenty millions of bushels. 



Corn is a varied article of diet among all classes. The ancient 

 Mexicans made a species of sugar from the juice of the stalk — 

 while the modern Mexicans brew from it a fermented drink, called 

 pulque de maiz, or omayo. The extremely saccharine pith of this 

 plant is often devoured raw by the Indians, and it has been also 

 frequently used in the manufacture of brandy. The unripe ears are 

 boiled or baked, and sold in the towns and villages to the poorer 

 classes, forming their sole subsistence ; while the leaves and stems 

 afford a capital food for beasts. Sometimes these portions of the 

 plant are devoted to architectural purposes, and a neat rustic hut is 

 built of the cornlike stalks, interwoven and thatched with their 

 broad and graceful leaves. 



A kind of beer, called chicha, is sometimes prepared from the 

 kernels of ripened maize, and is found, by natives and strangers, to 

 be an agreeable as well as wholesome beverage. When the rn^al 

 is boiled in water, and mixed with some farinacious roots, a favorite 

 and exceedingly grateful gruel, known as atole, is formed by the 

 process. In the tierra caliente, the kernels are often roasted and 

 ground into pinole ; — but the most ordinary consumption of this 

 precious vegetable is in the tortillas, for which Mexico is so cele- 

 brated, and in the preparation of which it is estimated that more 

 than two hundred thousand females, in the republic, spend four or 

 five hours of every day. In order to make tortillas, the grains of 

 corn are soaked in water, to which a small quantity of lime has 

 been added, until they are relieved of their shells. The pure and 

 softened pulp is then laid on a flat stone or metate, one end of 

 which is slightly raised from the ground. A Mexican woman 

 kneels in the rear of the metate, and with another round stone, rolls, 

 macerates, and amalgamates the crushed corn until it is formed into 

 a rich succulent paste. Hard by, a thin metallic griddle is set over 

 ignited coals, w T hich is constantly supplied by another female, who 

 pats the dough into extremely thin and delicate cakes. They are 

 eaten hot from the griddle, but, even when carefully prepared, are 

 deemed insipid and unsavory by foreigners. 



Nor are these the only purposes to which this delightful plant and 

 its offal are devoted by the Mexicans. They have discovered, with- 

 in a few years, that a capital paper, for ordinary purposes, can be 



