leet; neither is it noticed by Arian, Diodorus, Columella, nor any
other ancient author; and even as late as 1491, the year before
Columbus discovered America, Joan di Cuba, in his "Ortus Sanitatis,"
makes no mention of it. It has never been found in any ancient
tumulus, sarcophagus, or pyramid; nor has it ever been represented in
any ancient painting, sculpture, or work of art, except in America.
But in that country, according to Garcilaso de la Vega, one of the
ancient Peruvian historians, the palace gardens of the Incas, in Peru,
were ornamented with maize, in gold and silver, with all the grains,
spikes, stalks, and leaves; and in one instance, in the "garden of
gold and silver," there was an entire cornfield, of considerable size,
representing the maize in its exact and natural shape; a proof no less
of the wealth of the Incas, than their veneration for this important
grain.

In further proof of the American origin, it may be stated that this
plant is still found growing, in a wild state, from the Rocky
mountains in North America, to the humid forests of Paraguay, where,
instead of having each grain naked, as is always the case after long
cultivation, it is completely covered with glumes or husks. It is,
furthermore, a well authenticated fact, that maize was found in a
state of cultivation by the aborigines, in the island of Cuba, on its
discovery by Columbus, as well as in most other places in America,
first explored by Americans.

The first successful attempt to cultivate this grain in North America,
by the English, occurred on James' river, in Virginia, in 1608. It was
undertaken by the colonists sent over by the Indian company, who
adopted the mode then practised by the natives, which, with some
modifications, has been pursued throughout this country ever since.
The yield, at this time, is represented to have been from two hundred
to more than one thousand fold. The same increase was noted by the
early settlers in Illinois. The present yield, east of the Rocky
Mountains, when judiciously cultivated, varies from 20 to 135 bushels
to an acre.

The varieties of Indian corn are very numerous, exhibiting every
grade of size, color, and conformation, between the "chubby reed"
that grows on the shores of Lake superior--the gigantic stalks of the
Ohio valley--the tiny ears, with flat, close, clinging grains, of
Canada--the brilliant, rounded little pearl--the bright red grains and
white cob of the eight-rowed haema