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Show America's Gift to the World. 1 IT is not an exaggeration to say that nothing has contributed more to the development de-velopment of the American people than "Indian corn." Without it the nat;vo peoples peo-ples of America could hardly have developed devel-oped bejond the savage state, nnd the explorers ex-plorers from Europe would certainly have been unable to effect a permanent settlement settle-ment upon the American Continent MaiVc was the only health sustaining food the Indians could supply to tbe early New Englandcrs; it sustained the adventurers adven-turers who traversed the valleys of the James, of the St. Johns and of the Mississippi Missis-sippi ; It provided the Spaniards with nourishment nour-ishment during the reckless march from Vera Cruz to the plateau of Mexico, and this same maize was found by PLarro'ti small army of conquerors when they subjugated sub-jugated the innumerable hosts of the lucaB of Peru. ! Yet up to tbe time of the landing of Columbus Co-lumbus in America maize was absolutely unknown to the inhabitants of the Old World. The few kernels of the new food brought to Queen Isabella by Columbus were classed as grain. Indian corn is really maize; -in English fpenkin- countries outside of the United States it is called mnirc, nnd in nil Spanish Span-ish countries "maisc" is thejword employed. em-ployed. Maizo is altogether art American ' . t l word, coming directly from the primitive 9 Arawak, the most widely disseminated In- Wx. dtan stock in South America. ri& From America maize was first introduced j& into Spain. Thence it spread throughout Europe ana into Asia and Africa. It ' reached India and Burmah early, and it M grows thvrc now everywhere among the 'M hills and Is the taTorite crop of the people. S The Portuguese reached Java in 140G and W China in 1516, taking maize with them. J To-day its geographical distribution is $3j worldwide and as a food crop has few equals among the cereals. The Indians $& thrived on it, and so Jong as they continue JJE its use they show much of their pristine f' sturdlness, and when it is denied them they jg suffer in physique and morale. m Maizo has also played an important part W In the social life of America. With the f aborigines it was an important clement in ' their general nature worship. The Aztecs E consecrated a goddess to it, and the .Mayas, " the Peruvians and others observed the M ripening of the grain with both solemnity ' and gladness. Even In burial rites corn .' was not omitted. In many instances it I" was interred with the body to servo is f - food on the journey into the unknown !i ' world, and the tombs of nil countries, from j Ohio in North America to Peru in South it ' America, contain evidences of the custom 1 of putting maize in the burial placo with J&, the hody. m " jFr |