CORN. Although the exact origins of Indian corn, or maize, are unknown, American Indians probably first grew it in prehistoric times in Peru, Bolivia, or the highlands of Mexico. By the time Europeans arrived in the New World, Indians on both American continents grew a variety of corn types, including sweet corn and popcorn. Indians helped secure the survival of the Jamestown and Plymouth settlements by supplying them with corn, and later taught English settlers to grow their own in hills fertilized with fish. Corn proved itself an ideal frontier crop. The grain could be eaten green, or parched and ground into meal to make cornbread or johnny cakes. It also made an excellent feed for hogs, cattle, and poultry. Finally, any surplus corn could be distilled into whiskey, either for home consumption or for sale.
In areas north of Virginia, settlers found a variety of corn known as flint, an early maturing type that continued to be grown well into the nineteenth century. This corn, usually yellow in color, kept well because of the hardness of its kernels. Farther south, white gourdseed corn dominated. The soft-kerneled gourdseed matured later and produced a heavier yield than the northern flint variety. Prior to the Civil War, corn was the South's most widely grown agricultural product, exceeding even cotton as the region's most valuable crop.
Although haphazard mixing of these two varieties undoubtedly occurred from time to time, the first record of their conscious mixing came in 1812. John Lorain of Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, demonstrated that particular mixtures of gourdseed and flint varieties yielded much greater harvests while retaining many of flint's desirable qualities. The varieties resulting from the work of Lorain and others were known as "dents." One famous variety, Robert Reid's yellow dent, came into being in 1847, largely by accident. The previous year, Reid had planted in Illinois a light reddish-colored variety that he had brought with him from Ohio; when a poor stand resulted, Reid used a small early, yellow variety, probably a flint, to replant the missing hills. The Reid family then developed the resulting successful mixture into a yellow dent that later came to dominate the corn belt.
Even as the yellow dents were making the American corn belt one of the most productive agricultural areas in the world, research workers were developing hybrids to replace them. Drawing first upon the theories of Charles Darwin and then upon those of Gregor Mendel, a number of American researchers published studies showing how corn could be bred for certain characteristics, including high yield. They included William James Beal of Michigan State College (1876), George Shull of Princeton University, and Edward M. East (1908), H. K. Hayes (1912), and Donald F. Jones (1919, working with East) of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. In 1926 the Pioneer Hi-Bred Corn Company offered hybrid-corn seed for sale on a continuing commercial basis, and thereafter more and more companies competed to provide the new hybrid seeds. As farmers adopted the new hybrids, corn yields increased at a spectacular rate, and by the end of World War II, the hybrids dominated American corn growing. From 1910 to 1919 the average acre yielded 26 bushels of corn; by 1971 it was 87 bushels. Yield increased to 118 bushels per acre in 1990 and to about 140 bushels per acre in 2000.
Corn spred throughout the world from the Americas. Just prior to World War I, the United States produced two-thirds of the world supply—about one-half of the national total originating in Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Mexico, Hungary, Argentina, Rumania, and Italy were the next leading nations in corn production. The production of corn as a food crop on a worldwide basis expanded greatly after 1950. The Rockefeller Foundation made a particular effort in an experimental center in Mexico to develop improved hybrids and methods for worldwide production, with emphasis on the tropics and subtropics. By 1973 the United States produced only one-half of the world total (143,344,000 metric tons), followed by the People's Republic of China (25,000,000), Brazil (15,200,000), and the Soviet Union (13,440,000).
Of the nearly 80 million acres of corn harvested annually in the United States, 86 percent is used for grain and the remainder for forage and silage. About 40 percent of the grain is fed to hogs, 25 percent to other livestock, and 15 percent to poultry. About 10 percent of the grain is exported, and the remaining 10 percent is industrially processed. Processed corn contributes to the manufacture of many products, including breakfast foods, corn meal, flour, and grits, as well as cornstarch, corn syrup, corn sugar, corn oil, and alcohol. Alcohol, lactic acid, and acetone are in turn used in the manufacture of hundreds of different products.
Since 1933, federal agricultural legislation has attempted to adjust production to demand and to ensure fair prices to farmers, affecting both the size and the value of the country's annual harvest.
There are more than 3,500 different uses for corn products. Corn does much more than feed people and livestock! It is processed and used in such things as baby food, chewing gum, dessert icing, fireworks, ethanol fuel, peanut butter, antibiotics, potato chips, soap, paint, and rust preventatives. It's also used in vitamins, the manufacturing of photographic film, and in the production of plastics.
The United States produces more corn to feed animals than any other grain. In recent years corn production has hit new heights, with over 10 billion bushels harvested. If every ear of corn could be stacked end to end, it would be long enough to reach from Earth to Mars!
Did you know corn has an incredibly long shelf life? Archeologists have been able to pop 1,000-year-old popcorn!
Here's some folklore about corn: The Indian word maiz means "sacred mother" or "giver over life." Some ancient tribes believed that corn is afraid to be cooked so a woman must warm it first with her breath. Cornmeal was also sprinkled across the doorway to keep enemies out.
Farmers grow corn on every continent except Antarctica.
One bushel of corn contains about 72,800 kernels and weighs 56 pounds.
From one bushel of corn we can get sweetener for 325 cans of pop, oil for two pounds of margarine, enough starch for a ton of paper, or 15 pounds of carbon dioxide "fizz" in soft drinks.
Each year, a single U.S. farmer provides food and fiber for 129 people -- 97 in the United States and 32 overseas.
Links:
The Corn Story
More Corn Facts
Ag Facts
Nutritional Facts
Source: Internet
Monday, July 9, 2012
Little Known Facts About Watermelons
About 200-300 varieties of watermelons are grown n the U.S. and Mexico, although there are about 50 varieties that are very popular.
It is not known when the plant was first cultivated, but there is evidence of its cultivation in the Nile Valley from at least as early as the second millennium BC, as finds of the characteristically large seed are reported in Twelfth dynasty sites; numerous watermelon seeds were recovered from the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
Texas is among the USA’s largest watermelon producers today.
The common watermelon is often large enough that groceries often sell half or quarter melons these days.
In Japan, farmers found a way to grow cubic watermelons, by growing the fruits in glass boxes and letting them naturally assume the shape of the receptacle. The square shape is designed to make the melons easier to stack and store, but the square watermelons are often more than double the price of normal ones.
A fat, round watermelon can take up a lot of room in a refrigerator, and the usually round fruit often sits awkwardly on refrigerator shelves.
But clever Japanese farmers have solved this dilemma by forcing their watermelons to grow into a square shape. Farmers insert the melons into square, tempered glass cases while the fruit is still growing on the vine.
The square boxes are the exact dimensions of Japanese refrigerators, allowing full-grown watermelons to fit conveniently and precisely onto refrigerator shelves.
But cubic fruit comes with a caveat: Each square watermelon costs 10,000 yen, the equivalent of about $82.
Pyramid shaped watermelons have also been developed.
Watermelon juice can be made into wine.
The average Ice Box round watermelon weighs 5-15 lbs. On average, then, the typical watermelon is close to 8 pounds.
Links:
Watermelon
Square Watermelons
Square Watermelon Pictures
Nutritional Facts
How to Pick Out A Watermelon
National Watermelon Promotion Board
Source: Internet
It is not known when the plant was first cultivated, but there is evidence of its cultivation in the Nile Valley from at least as early as the second millennium BC, as finds of the characteristically large seed are reported in Twelfth dynasty sites; numerous watermelon seeds were recovered from the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
Texas is among the USA’s largest watermelon producers today.
The common watermelon is often large enough that groceries often sell half or quarter melons these days.
In Japan, farmers found a way to grow cubic watermelons, by growing the fruits in glass boxes and letting them naturally assume the shape of the receptacle. The square shape is designed to make the melons easier to stack and store, but the square watermelons are often more than double the price of normal ones.
A fat, round watermelon can take up a lot of room in a refrigerator, and the usually round fruit often sits awkwardly on refrigerator shelves.
But clever Japanese farmers have solved this dilemma by forcing their watermelons to grow into a square shape. Farmers insert the melons into square, tempered glass cases while the fruit is still growing on the vine.
The square boxes are the exact dimensions of Japanese refrigerators, allowing full-grown watermelons to fit conveniently and precisely onto refrigerator shelves.
But cubic fruit comes with a caveat: Each square watermelon costs 10,000 yen, the equivalent of about $82.
Pyramid shaped watermelons have also been developed.
Watermelon juice can be made into wine.
The average Ice Box round watermelon weighs 5-15 lbs. On average, then, the typical watermelon is close to 8 pounds.
Links:
Watermelon
Square Watermelons
Square Watermelon Pictures
Nutritional Facts
How to Pick Out A Watermelon
National Watermelon Promotion Board
Source: Internet
Little Known Facts of Life In the 1500's
Bathing was considered to be a health risk. Most people got married
in June because (among other things) they had taken their yearly bath in
May and were still smelling pretty good. However, by June they were
starting to produce an aroma, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to help mask
any body odor.
A bath equaled a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house
had the privilege of the fresh, clean water. Then all the other sons
and men bathed. They were followed by the women, and finally the children. Last
of all came the babies. By then the bath water was so dirty you could
actually lose someone in it. Hence the expression, "Don't throw the
baby out with the bath water,"
Most houses had thatched roofs -- thick straw, piled high between
trusses, with no wood sheathing underneath. The roof straw was a warm
place for animals to lodge, so dogs, cats and other outdoor pets, plus mice,
rats, and bugs nested on or in the roof material. When it rained the
roof became slippery, sometimes causing animals to slip and fall from atop or
inside the wet thatch. Hence the saying, "It's raining cats and
dogs," There was nothing to stop critters from falling out of the roof thatch into
the house. This posed a real problem in the bedrooms (typically located
upstairs and directly under the roof) where bugs, mice and their
associated droppings could mess up your nice clean sheets. So, they started
making beds with tall posts at each corner and hung a sheet over the top to
address that problem.Hence those beautiful big four-poster beds with canopies.
Most home floors were dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than
dirt, hence the expression "dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors
which would get slippery when wet during the winter. So they spread thresh
(straw) on the floor to help keep their footing. As the winter
progressed, they kept adding more thresh until when you opened the door it would
naturally start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed at the bottom of the
entry way,which they called a "threshold."
Most people cooked in the kitchen in a big kettle that always hung
permanently over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added
things to the pot. People mostly survived on vegetables because meat was
costly. They would eat a thin stew for dinner leaving leftovers in the pot to
get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes the stew
had food items in it that had been in there for a month. Hence the
children's rhyme: "peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot
nine days old,"
Sometimes people could obtain pork, which helped honor a guest or
celebrate an important occasion. When company came over, the host
would bring out some bacon and hang it to show it off. It was a sign
of success and wealth and that a man could really "bring home the bacon." They would
cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and "chew the fat."
During a meal, bread was divided according to status. Hired workers got
the often-burned bottom portion of the loaf, the family got the middle
section, and guests were honored with the top part, or the "upper
crust."
Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with a high acid
content caused some of the lead to leak into the food, triggering lead
poisoning.This happened most often with tomatoes, so people stopped eating
tomatoes for 400 years. Most people could not afford pewter plates, but had
trenchers a piece of wood with the middle carved out to form a bowl.
Given this time period's aversion to washing things, trenchers were never cleaned,
so eventually bacteria and worms flourished in the wood. After eating
from wormy trenchers, people would get "trench mouth." Lead cups were
used to drink ale or whiskey. This chemical combination would sometimes
knock the drinker out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road
would mistake the person for dead and prepare them for burial. They were
laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family
would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if the person would wake up.
Hence the custom of holding a "wake" before final burial.
England is old and small and they started running out of suitable
places to bury people. So eventually they started digging up coffins
and would take their bones to a house and reuse the grave site. In reopening
these coffins, one out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside.
The Brits realized they had been burying people alive. So they thought
they would tie a string on their wrist and lead it through the coffin and
up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit
out in the graveyard all night to listen for the bell. Hence on the
"graveyard shift" they might find that someone was "saved by the bell"
if he was a "dead ringer".
Source: Internet
in June because (among other things) they had taken their yearly bath in
May and were still smelling pretty good. However, by June they were
starting to produce an aroma, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to help mask
any body odor.
A bath equaled a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house
had the privilege of the fresh, clean water. Then all the other sons
and men bathed. They were followed by the women, and finally the children. Last
of all came the babies. By then the bath water was so dirty you could
actually lose someone in it. Hence the expression, "Don't throw the
baby out with the bath water,"
Most houses had thatched roofs -- thick straw, piled high between
trusses, with no wood sheathing underneath. The roof straw was a warm
place for animals to lodge, so dogs, cats and other outdoor pets, plus mice,
rats, and bugs nested on or in the roof material. When it rained the
roof became slippery, sometimes causing animals to slip and fall from atop or
inside the wet thatch. Hence the saying, "It's raining cats and
dogs," There was nothing to stop critters from falling out of the roof thatch into
the house. This posed a real problem in the bedrooms (typically located
upstairs and directly under the roof) where bugs, mice and their
associated droppings could mess up your nice clean sheets. So, they started
making beds with tall posts at each corner and hung a sheet over the top to
address that problem.Hence those beautiful big four-poster beds with canopies.
Most home floors were dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than
dirt, hence the expression "dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors
which would get slippery when wet during the winter. So they spread thresh
(straw) on the floor to help keep their footing. As the winter
progressed, they kept adding more thresh until when you opened the door it would
naturally start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed at the bottom of the
entry way,which they called a "threshold."
Most people cooked in the kitchen in a big kettle that always hung
permanently over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added
things to the pot. People mostly survived on vegetables because meat was
costly. They would eat a thin stew for dinner leaving leftovers in the pot to
get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes the stew
had food items in it that had been in there for a month. Hence the
children's rhyme: "peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot
nine days old,"
Sometimes people could obtain pork, which helped honor a guest or
celebrate an important occasion. When company came over, the host
would bring out some bacon and hang it to show it off. It was a sign
of success and wealth and that a man could really "bring home the bacon." They would
cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and "chew the fat."
During a meal, bread was divided according to status. Hired workers got
the often-burned bottom portion of the loaf, the family got the middle
section, and guests were honored with the top part, or the "upper
crust."
Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with a high acid
content caused some of the lead to leak into the food, triggering lead
poisoning.This happened most often with tomatoes, so people stopped eating
tomatoes for 400 years. Most people could not afford pewter plates, but had
trenchers a piece of wood with the middle carved out to form a bowl.
Given this time period's aversion to washing things, trenchers were never cleaned,
so eventually bacteria and worms flourished in the wood. After eating
from wormy trenchers, people would get "trench mouth." Lead cups were
used to drink ale or whiskey. This chemical combination would sometimes
knock the drinker out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road
would mistake the person for dead and prepare them for burial. They were
laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family
would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if the person would wake up.
Hence the custom of holding a "wake" before final burial.
England is old and small and they started running out of suitable
places to bury people. So eventually they started digging up coffins
and would take their bones to a house and reuse the grave site. In reopening
these coffins, one out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside.
The Brits realized they had been burying people alive. So they thought
they would tie a string on their wrist and lead it through the coffin and
up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit
out in the graveyard all night to listen for the bell. Hence on the
"graveyard shift" they might find that someone was "saved by the bell"
if he was a "dead ringer".
Source: Internet
Thursday, July 5, 2012
How the world works lately...
If a man cuts his finger off while
Slicing salami at work,
He blames the restaurant.
If you smoke three packs a day
For 40 years and die of lung cancer,
Your family blames the
Tobacco company.
If your neighbor crashes
Into a tree while driving home drunk,
He blames the bartender.
If your grandchildren are
Brats without manners,
You blame television.
If your friend is shot by a
Deranged madman,
You blame the gun manufacturer..
And if a crazed person breaks
Into the cockpit and
Tries to kill the pilot at 35,000 feet,
And the passengers
Kill him instead,
The mother of the crazed deceased
Blames the airline.
I must have lived too long to
Understand the world
As it is anymore.
So, if I die while my OLD WRINKLED A--
is parked in front of this computer,
I want all of you to Blame Bill Gates.
Source: Internet
Slicing salami at work,
He blames the restaurant.
If you smoke three packs a day
For 40 years and die of lung cancer,
Your family blames the
Tobacco company.
If your neighbor crashes
Into a tree while driving home drunk,
He blames the bartender.
If your grandchildren are
Brats without manners,
You blame television.
If your friend is shot by a
Deranged madman,
You blame the gun manufacturer..
And if a crazed person breaks
Into the cockpit and
Tries to kill the pilot at 35,000 feet,
And the passengers
Kill him instead,
The mother of the crazed deceased
Blames the airline.
I must have lived too long to
Understand the world
As it is anymore.
So, if I die while my OLD WRINKLED A--
is parked in front of this computer,
I want all of you to Blame Bill Gates.
Source: Internet
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------------------------------
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PART STUPID DOG
-----------------------------
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NEUTERED. SPEAKS GERMAN. FREE.
-----------------------------------
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Complete set of Encyclopedia
Britannica. 45 volumes. Excellent
condition. $1,000.00
or best offer. No longer needed. Got
married last weekend. Wife knows
everything.
Source: Internet
8 YEARS OLD. HATEFUL LITTLE DOG.
--------------------------------
FREE PUPPIES:
1/2 COCKER SPANIEL
1/2 SNEAKY NEIGHBOR'S DOG
------------------------------
FREE PUPPIES... PART GERMAN SHEPHERD
PART STUPID DOG
-----------------------------
GERMAN SHEPHERD 85 lbs.
NEUTERED. SPEAKS GERMAN. FREE.
-----------------------------------
FOUND: DIRTY WHITE DOG.
LOOKS LIKE A RAT...
BEEN OUT AWHILE.
BETTER BE REWARD.
-----------------------------------
SNOW BLOWER FOR SALE...
ONLY USED ON SNOWY DAYS.
-----------------------------
TICKLE ME ELMO, STILL IN BOX, COMES
WITH ITS OWN 1988 MUSTANG, 5L, AUTO,
EXCELLENT CONDITION $6800
------------------------------
COWS, CALVES NEVER BRED...
ALSO 1 GAY BULL FOR SALE.
-----------------------------
NORDIC TRACK $300
HARDLY USED, CALL CHUBBY
-----------------------------------
BILL'S SEPTIC CLEANING
"WE HAUL AMERICAN MADE PRODUCTS"
----------------------------------
SHAKESPEARE'S PIZZA - FREE CHOPSTICKS
-------------------------------------
HARRISBURG POSTAL EMPLOYEES GUN CLUB
----------------------------------
GEORGIA PEACHES
CALIFORNIA GROWN - 89 cents lb.
------------------------------------
NICE PARACHUTE:
NEVER OPENED - USED ONCE
------------------------------------
TIRED OF WORKING FOR ONLY $9.75 PER HOUR?
WE OFFER PROFIT SHARING AND FLEXIBLE HOURS.
STARTING PAY: $7 -- $9 PER HOUR.
-------------------------------------
OUR SOFA SEATS THE WHOLE MOB
AND IT'S MADE OF 100% ITALIAN LEATHER.
--------------------------------------
JOINING NUDIST COLONY!
MUST SELL WASHER & DRYER $300.
------------------------------------
ALZHEIMER'S CENTER PREPARES
FOR AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER
------------------------------------
OPEN HOUSE
BODY SHAPERS TONING SALON
FREE COFFEE & DONUTS
------------------------------------
FOR SALE BY OWNER
Complete set of Encyclopedia
Britannica. 45 volumes. Excellent
condition. $1,000.00
or best offer. No longer needed. Got
married last weekend. Wife knows
everything.
Source: Internet
New Chinese Proverb
Original Chinese Proverb:
“Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish… and you feed him for a lifetime.”
Latest Chinese Proverb:
“Give a man a welfare check, a cell phone, cash for his clunker, food stamps, section 8 housing, Medicaid, 100 weeks of unemployment checks, a 40-ounce malt liquor, needles, drugs, contraceptives, and designer Air Jordan shoes… and he will vote Democrat for a lifetime.
Source: Internet
“Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish… and you feed him for a lifetime.”
Latest Chinese Proverb:
“Give a man a welfare check, a cell phone, cash for his clunker, food stamps, section 8 housing, Medicaid, 100 weeks of unemployment checks, a 40-ounce malt liquor, needles, drugs, contraceptives, and designer Air Jordan shoes… and he will vote Democrat for a lifetime.
Source: Internet
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