508 
Fourth  Report  on  the  Analysis 
once  show  the  great  similarity  in  their  effect  upon  the  soil,  pro- 
vided that  the  quantities  which  we  have  assumed  for  the  different 
crops  be  at  all  in  accordance  with  the  truth. 
Maize , or  Indian  Corn. — During  the  last  twelvemonth*  consider- 
able attention  has  been  attracted  to  the  cultivation  of  maize,  in 
consequence  of  the  introduction  of  a new  variety,  which  is  said  to 
be  eminently  adapted  to  the  climate  of  this  country.  Mr.  Keene, 
who  has  introduced  this  peculiar  kind  of  Indian  corn  under  the 
name  of  “ Forty-day  Maize,”  very  obligingly  placed  a sufficient 
quantity  of  the  different  parts  of  the  plant  at  our  disposal  for 
analysis.  The  following  analyses  exhibit  the  mineral  composition 
of  the  grain,  of  the  stalks  with  the  leaves  attached,  and  of  the  pith 
or  centre  of  the  “ cobbs.’’  Strictly  speaking  the  analysis  of  the 
leaves  should  have  been  made  separately,  as  Mr.  Keene  states  that 
in  the  Pyrenees  the  leaves  are  stripped  off  whilst  green  and  used 
as  fodder  for  cattle. f The  interest  which  attached  to  this  ex- 
amination is  expressed  in  the  following  statement : — Land  of 
average  quality  in  a climate,  according  to  Mr.  Keene,  very 
similar  in  many  respects  to  that  of  the  south  of  England,  ancl 
which  produces — say  30  bushels  of  wheat — gives  on  the  average 
5^  or  6 quarters  of  Indian  corn:  the  question  arises,  is  there 
anything  in  the  mineral  composition  of  maize  to  lead  us  to  believe 
that  its  larger  production  is  dependent  on  more  moderate  mineral 
requirements  than  in  the  case  of  wheat?  We  will  give  the 
analyses  of  this  plant,  and  then  attempt  to  draw  the  comparison. 
The  grain  was  burnt  by  itself,  as  was  also  the  pith  of  the  seed- 
head  ; the  stalk  of  a plant  was  burnt  with  its  accompanying- 
leaves.  It  is  open  to  question  whether  this  latter  specimen  would 
afford  a fair  average  of  the  produce  of  a whole  field,  but  at  the 
time  the  examination  was  made  we  were  necessarily  confined  to 
the  only  specimens  then  to  be  obtained. 
Per  centage  of  water,  ash,  &c.  in  Keene’s  “Forty-day”  Maize: — 
Water. 
Ash. 
Ash  calculated 
on  dry 
Sulphur  on 
1000  Grains 
Grain 
9-25  • 
. 1-37 
substance. 
..  1*51 
undried. 
2-05 
Stalks  and  Leaves  . 
8-82  • 
. 5-01 
..  5-49  .. 
4*58 
Pith  of  the  “ Cobb”  oi  l 
10-91  • 
• -50 
•56  .. 
1-53 
seed-head  . . . 1 
The  ash  of  the  pith  is  very  small  in  quantity,  being  only  1-IOth 
part  that  which  is  contained  in  the  stem  and  leaves. 
These  ashes  consist  of  the  following  ingredients  : — 
* October,  1S49. 
f This  practice  is  of  very  questionable  policy.  The  same  thing  lias  been  done  with 
turnips  and  beet  on  the  Continent,  but  is  condemned  by  the  most  distinguished  agri- 
cultural writers  of  Germany  and  France. 
