240 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Sepr., 1899. 
COMPOSITION. 
Typical American maize has, approximately, the following composition :— 
Weight of 100 kernels x et = 38 grammes. 
Moisture... mee cx, me x35 10°75 per cent. 
Proteids ood on 3 a aes 10:00 " 
Oe ore ree er ro Be 4°25 % 
Crude fibre ... oe at = we 1-75 Fe 
AID xe: eee a a = ue 1:50 a 
Carbohydrates (other than fibre) ... es 71°75 
Although certain varieties of “ early-maturing” maize, or “ sweet’? maize 
intended for table use, when partially ripe, contain considerably larger quantities 
of both sugar and oil than do the ordinary ones, it appears from the many 
analyses which have been made in the departmental laboratories that maize is 
one of the most invariable of the cereals, maintaining, under very different 
climatic conditions, a remarkably uniform composition, and varying chiefly in 
the size, colour, and physical characteristics of the individual kernels. 
THE MILLING OF MAIZE. 
The flour made from Indian corn is known as “cornmeal.” The simplest 
and one of the most prevalent methods of preparing it was to grind the kernels 
_ between stones, and use the whole meal, coarsely sifted. In the Southern States 
this process is still largely employed. A finer grade of the cornmeal is prepared 
by first grinding in the above manner, and then bolting to remove the greater 
part of the bran. Unfortunately, the meal thus prepared is very hygroscopic, 
and, as the germ contains a large proportion of the oil, the product is apt to 
become rancid and mouldy. Improved processes have hence been introduced 
during the last few years, and the following description is fairly applicable to the 
majority of them. 
The grain is first broken, and the germ loosened in a “ degerminator.” The 
germ and the hull are then separated by means of bolting cloths arid currents of 
air, and the remaining corn is ground between corrugated iron rollers. The 
resulting meal is again submitted to bolting and purification by currents of air, 
and the refined product is known as granular meal. The waste matter (hull, 
germ, flinty portions of the corn, &c.) amounts to about 30to 35 per cent. The 
use of artificial heat during the processes ensures betterresults, and the meal keeps 
longer. Notwithstanding the improved methods of preparation, this granular 
meal has not found favour in the Southern States. 
Apart from the methods of manufacture, there are two distinct kinds of 
cornmeal, distinguished by their colour—viz., the white and the yellow. These 
colours are due to the original tint of the corn, and there is probably but little 
difference in nutritive value and palatableness of the two varieties. 
RELATIVE NUTRITIVE PROPERTIES OF WHEAT AND MAIZE. 
Although so extensively used in America, there is a widespread opinion in 
Europe that the products of Indian corn are less digestible and less nutritious 
than those of wheat. This opinion, it appears, has no justification, either from 
the chemical composition of the two classes of bodies or recorded digestive and 
nutritive experiments. A study of the analytical data of the whole grain shows 
that, in so far as actual nutrients are concerned, maize is fully equal to wheat. 
The ash content of maize being small, there is no doubt that there is a slight 
deficiency in the mineral food employed for the nourishment of the body, but, as 
the cereals contain an excess of mineral matter above the requirements of the 
body, this slight deficiency may be disregarded. In its percentage of fat, Indian 
corn easily takes precedence over all other cereals, with the single exception of 
hulled oats; while of digestible carbohydrates (such as starch, sugar, dextrin, &ec.) 
it possesses a higher proportion than hulled oats, almost the same as wheat, and 
slightly less than rye or barley. With the exception of oats, Indian corn contains 
nearly the same quantity of proteid matters as the other leading cereals. 
