| Show map mv 4 without food for all neither the united states nor her allies can crush the enemy the great corn crop may be the real life iffe saver for us F 4 HE farmers of the united states are on tho the firing line of the great war today their plows are worth many cannon the seed they sow Is worth regiments of men for no army can fight without food and no nation can sustain war without food the allies our allies are beginning tofeek td to feel the pinch of want not in the camle same degree as the people of central europe but that will come unless america puts forth all her energies to supply them but it Is most mo si essential to feed Anic america rica first even now a large class of our people are feeling the weight of food shortage food riots and partial famine are threatened by crop failure in the united states so it Is IB up to the american farmer to do his best many conditions have contributed to bring about the situation in which there are hunger riots in a land so rich naturally much of the shortage of food Is primarily due to costly habits of eating w which litch for many decades have been holding all classes in their clutch the time Is at band when the nation will appreciate the many valuable articles which before columbus came the indians were developing there are many food products native to the western world which have been unaccountably neglected the most striking examples of unused value in foods Is the corn crop every other nation in the world Is eager for american corn and yet this cheap and highly nutritious cereal Is neglected in the he land which Is its main source of supply what wheat was to the armies of old corn could be to the forces of the united states the legions of hannibal and of caesar subsisted aisted on the whole wheat bauls conqueror in his commentaries tells how soldiers chewed fru frn ea as they marched to this day roman and punic skeletons are unearthed on the old battlefields of europe and the skulls are firm and hard hard because of the valuable salts and bone bon constituents which came from the wheaten diet of the ancient soldiery corn I 1 is no less valuable as a builder of brave and sturdy men the favorite ration of davy crockett was parched and ground corn which he carried with him into the depths of the forest it was vas a saying of his that if a man had a gun and ten pounds of parched corn he could easily live a year ills his diet was a trick learned from the indians who ito were able to withstand the fatigues of warpath karpath and hunting trail because of this simple tind quickly assimilated food the corn rich in starch and protein prote tn parched until it was made quickly digestible was mixed with water A cupful of this roost most simple of all the he elixirs elars had the effect of almost instantly strengthening the tired body the government of the united states urges upon the people of this country that at least one fourth part of cornmeal be added to wheaten flour in the making of bread As a matter of fact corn tins has been used in the form of a fine flour for centuries by various tribes of indians and when well enough ground it is fully as palatable as the th wheaten product the coarse cornmeal bears little resemblance to the lie impalpable powder of corn which th he primitive races of this his continent made by grinding grini ing between tones stones and that by hand band the outer covering of the kernels la Is scraped off after soaking them in hot water to which a little lye has been added this flour Is mixed with water at times and the white liquid resulting la is quaffed with much relish it Is nn an emergency ration of the highest food value whittler has sung the praises of the dish of samp and milk by homespun beauty poured th the e hominy block in the lie time of daniel boone was an adjunct of the cabin of every settler it stood at the edge of cleft clearings rings as a mark of the diet to which thise steel pioneers looked for strength the johnnycake and the corn pone of the hardy mountaineers of the south benr bear i abundant abunda ni testimony to the bodybuilding body building qualities of the staple from which they are derived corn enters into the composition of patent break sg A r V AN lel i 1 12 A fast foods but long before the days of cartons and bright labels the indians were making corn dishes which for delicacy of flavor and dietetic value put the products of this modern day to shame they also constructed flapjacks flap jacks which literally melted in the mouth the tortillas hortillas tor tillas of the central american countries are a form of corn which whid appeals to travelers the tortilla Is made of corn flour and is a first cousin of the pancake before it cools ailt Is rolled up and a surprise party put inside it usually a little high seasoned meat it Is then kept for future use A favorite break breakfast fak in the central american countries consists of two tor tillas which have been heated before the fire they and a cup of coffee ire are enough to satisfy even the hungriest indian tastes much better than it sounds it Is a very thin light wafer made by th the indians in the southern part of this continent the corn from which the cake Is made Is first slightly parched and then pounded to a fine dust the cakes are flak ellke elike and not much thicker than wrapping paper they are carried in small bags thrown over the shoulders of the hardy indians Is dry and ly and yet delicious la in in its qualities the flavor as well as sustaining biscuit and crackers of civilization are tame in flavor as compared with this aboriginal nal provender corn flourishes in the fertile bottom of the middle middie west under the lee of the mesas of arizona and even in regions of the northwest where until recently it had bad a hard time to ese escape elpe the frost one of the greatest gifts which tb the e indians hp bp stowed upon the world was this grain of gold the general impression Is that the redskin was merely a hunter when in reality he was a walking experimental agricultural station it Is one of the favorite outdoor pastimes of t the he indians of tho the southwest to laugh at the government aarl agricultural cultural experts who have from time to time been sent out there to teach thern them how hofto to grow corn the indians profess great interest and not to appear unappreciative they used to plant corn a patches alongside those hose of the federal apostles of modern farming the governal govern government mL mt corn came up bright a and ad green and soon withered away while that of the indians in deans flourished like weeping willows by the riv rivers ers brink the indians in order to avoid the killing dryness often lodged the kernels three and four feet below the surface in the bottom of holes made by thel their r planting sticks hence the development of the deep growing corn which often raises only its ears above the surface the corn or maize Is essentially a tropical plant which had its origin in mexico and was adapted to this climate by the indians th the e agricultural secrets of the mandan indians indiana have recently been applied in the dakotas with such success that the domain of the ansel crowned ring king corn has been much extended the introduction of the indian methods have made it possible for the farmers to grow a corn which can be harvested within CO 60 days after it Is planted and thus escape the frosts which would ruin it even evea in its maturity corn therefore should be an ideal food for both the soldiery and the civil population tor for it now may be raised abundantly in practically every part of the country vast tracts could be devoted to the grain and many crops could be harvested in winter the americans could learn the value of the hog and homan hominy of the flavor of that delpe delectable table compound of cornmeal and pigs head bead known as 03 scrapple and could eat with zest fried mush and corn cakes the summer would bring them corn flour and polenta and many other foods derived from the yellow cereal |
