INDIAN CORN OR MAIZE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 2, Issue 272, 24 September 1879, Page 2

INDIAN CORN OR MAIZE.

. # (From the N.Z, Country Journal). I have often wondered why maize is so little cultivated in New Zealand, as there seems reason to believe that its cultivation will prove profitable in most parts of the the country. I have grown several varieties on a small scale for the last five years and have not had a failure during that time, I am therefore induced to write a few remarks on the matter in order to induce others to try it. The varieties I grow are the common brown corn, the pnp com,, and the sweet corn, all of which are of American origin; , the first is the kind so well known from its coarse yellow grains about the Bize of peas, it is by far the least profitable of the three above mentioned, and it is also more liable to be injured by the frost, ■ The pop and sweet corn are much dwarfer than ■ the common kind, usually growing from • ; three to five feet high, and produce three I or four ears or cobs instead of one. The • grains of these two kinds are much smaller than those of the common corn and of a beautiful pearly whiteness and frequently produced at the rate of four hundred fold. These two kinds are nearly equal in merit but the sweet sometimes produces a few yellow grains in its cob, which detract from the appearance of the sample. It is from these two kinds of maize that the cornflour so extensively used in the colony is made, and I am perfectly satisfied that New Zealand can produce cornflour equal to the best imported from America, Maize is also excellent as a vegetable, it may be either boiled in the green state like cauliflower, or, when halt ripe roasted with the husks on, before a bright fire; when so cooked it is delicious, and is largely U3ed in the United States, where the cry of " Hot corn" may be heard in the streets as. commonly as " Nuts" in England, Maize is supposed to be indigenous to Southern Asia, but it was found in cultivation in America on the discovery of that continent by Columbus. It is now pretty clearly ascertained that maize is the plant referred to as corn m various parts of the Old Testament, Its cultivation is more extended than that of any other cereal, and is annually increasing. As an article of food it is highly spoken of, and men fed upon it are said to be stronger, bigger, and better constitutioned than those fed upon rice or barley. It may perhaps not be out of place to mention here that it forms a large part of the food of the Zulus who have given so much trouble to the South African coloKflfc-Verv fair beer has been made of maize, and even spirits from it, Corn flour is well krwjjm to be wholesome and nutritious, is easy of digestion, and is well adapted for making puddings, custards, etc, m& For pig and poultry feeding probably superior to all other kinds of grain, and it is well worthy of cultivation for these purposes if for no other. The cultivation is so similar to that of other .. cereals that littlo need be said about it here, the main points of difference are that it should not be sown till the end of August or the middle of September, in order to escape the late spring frotts, which are apt to damage the crop; that it should be sown in drills three feet apart, and at least two feet between the plants, and that it should be hoed two or three times during the summer. It is not par ticular as to soil, provided it he deeply worked, but this last point and a sunny situation are indispensable. The cobs or ears begin to ripen in February, and

March, and at the end of the" latter month thoy should bo carefully gathorcd by liand, and laid up in heaps in a dry shed, or tied in bunches and suspended with the points downwards. One good point about maize is that it does not fall off when ripe, but will hang on the stem for months aftor ripening The grain is stripped from the ears by machinery invented for the purpose, or it may be done by hand by drawing the cob sharply across a piece of hoop iron fixed in a block of wood. In conclusion, I can recommend the two varieties above enumerated as hardy in V > Christchudt, and therefore likely to be so in the greater part of the colony. It is njßKfcourso to be supposed that it will eveJfko the place of wheat in our agri l cuiffre, but I think there can bo no doubt that many will find it useful. It is also a very suitable plant for gardens, to bo grown for using as a vegetable as previously mentioned, When grown in tlio garden it may be liberally manured with /pigoon or poultry dung, and may be made I to yield an almost incredible amount of i produce, fully equal in the opinion of many to the best flavoured of the pea tribe for cooking purposes. J. B. Armstrong.