Corn (podiatry)

“ We can scarcely conceive how the human race could exist without farinaceous substances, and without that nourishing juice which the breast of the mother contains, and which is appropriated to the long feebleness of the infant. The amylaceous matter of corn, the object of religious veneration among so many nations, ancient and modern, is diffused in the seeds and deposited in the roots of vegetables; milk, which serves us as an aliment, appears to us exclusively the produce of animal organization.—Such are the impressions we have received in our earliest infancy ”

“ We have seen that sometimes the young corn-spirit, whose task it is to quicken the corn of the coming year, is believed to be born as a Corn-baby on the harvest-field.947 Similarly in Berry the young corn-spirit is sometimes supposed to be born on the field in calf form; for when a binder has not rope enough to bind all the corn in sheaves, he puts aside the wheat that remains over and imitates the lowing of a cow. ”

“ Some corns, we believe, are produced in a similar way—a larger number of the papillæ projecting and being covered completely and thickly with epidermis, which, becoming dry and hard, still further pains the sore and sensitive papillæ as it is pressed upon by the boot. This kind of corn can be cured only as a wart is removed—by burning the papillæ, or, as they are called in the wart, the roots; thus changing the structure of the skin, or, in other words, making a scar.
Ordinarily a hard corn commences at a point, or by the irritation of a small surface of the skin, or only a few of the papillæ. ”

“ Corn ranks high in comparison with other cereal grains as a food for man. Large quantities are eaten in the United States, in Southern and Eastern Europe, and in the Orient, but it is little known in Northern Europe. Cornmeal, made into corn bread, mush, and many other foods, is wholesome and nutritious. It cannot be leavened with yeast like wheat flour in bread-making, as the corn does not possess gluten, and the proteids of the maize kernel have other properties than those which characterize gluten. Large quantities of corn are consumed in the form of hominy and other breakfast foods. ”

“ They are not in themselves sensitive, but pain follows pressure upon them, as they [Pg 155] act as foreign bodies in bearing down upon the sensitive lower layers of the skin. Continued irritation often leads to inflammation of the skin around and beneath the corn with the formation of pus. Ordinarily, corns are tough, yellowish, horny masses, but, when moistened by sweat between the toes, they are white, and are called "soft corns." ”

“ One man may be a little taller, a little heavier, have a different tilt to his nose, but any two men are more alike than a man and a dog. So corn has a little less protein than wheat and considerably less lime, yet corn and wheat are, nutritionally, more alike than either is like sugar.
None of the cereals will make a complete diet by itself. If we take white bread as the foundation, we must add to it something containing lime, such as milk or cheese; something containing iron, such as spinach, egg yolk, meat, or other iron-rich food ”

“ Like all green crops, corn fodder has a high water content. It owes its nutritive value principally to the carbohydrates which it contains. It is also useful as a feeding stuff, because it is succulent, gives necessary bulk to a ration, and is relished by animals. Dried corn fodder and stover are similar in composition to hay, and are very valuable feeding stuffs, but unless cut fine or shredded and otherwise properly handled, a considerable portion may be wasted when fed. ”

“ After its maturity, it is also prepared for use or the granary with little labor. The husking is a short process, and is even advantageously delayed till the moment arrives for using the corn. The machinery for converting it into food is also exceedingly simple and cheap. As soon as the ear is fully formed, it may be roasted or boiled, and forms thus an excellent and nourishing diet. ”

“ The youngsters running with the hen did not show the large mortality which those did in the Brooder House, but even the broods running with the hen did not do nearly so well where the corn was fed, as did those not having this ingredient in their food.
The great mortality in young chicks is produced by the upsetting of their digestive organs. Corn is [124] very heating, and as soon as the chick’s blood is over-heated its digestive organs fail to work properly, and what is now known as “White Diarrhœa” almost invariably develops. ”

“ When combined with wheat flour, corn bread and various other articles of food are prepared, but used alone corn flour is not suitable for bread making, because its gluten lacks the binding properties imparted to wheat flour by the gliadin. It is essential that corn be used with foods of high protein content so as to make a balanced ration; for when it forms a large part of the dietary, the ration is apt to be [Pg 124] deficient in protein. In a mixed dietary, corn is one of the cheapest and best cereals that can be used. ”

“ When there are only small quantities of chicks to feed, and cash is of more value than time, it will be cheaper to mix the feed at home. Take one quart each of finely-cracked corn, bran and hulled oats; mix with the same quantity of golden millet, rape, Kafir-corn and very sharp, fine gravel, crushed charcoal and finely-chopped clover-hay. Mix thoroughly, then pass through a fine sieve, to insure there being no large pieces of the corn or oats for the babies to choke themselves with. ”

“ When slightly developed they cause very little disturbance or discomfort, but if large or irritated they may become sensitive and render walking painful. Continued pressure and friction, as from badly-fitting shoes, are the active factors in their production. Anatomically, a corn is a localized epidermal hypertrophy, consisting of a horny mass, cone-shaped, with the base externally and the apex pressing upon the rete and corium ”

“ It is much less valuable than Indian corn fodder. Egyptian corn is one of the non-saccharine sorghums which are valuable both for grain or for green feeding. We never heard of direct milk-drying effect, though such a result might be expected from feeding such innutritive material, which is also difficult of digestion. If fed for roughness it should be in connection with concentrated foods like bran or oil meal or with green alfalfa. No cow can give much milk when the feed is hardly nutritive enough to keep her alive. ”

“ When jars have become cool give tops another turn, to be positive they are air-tight before putting away for the Winter. When preparing this canned corn for the table, drain all liquid from the corn when taken from the can, pour cold water over and allow to stand a short time on the range until luke-warm. Drain and if not too salt, add a small quantity of fresh water, cook a few minutes, season with butter, add a couple tablespoonfuls of sweet milk; serve when hot. This canned corn possesses the flavor of corn freshly cut from the cob. ”

“ When it appears fairly certain, even in the case of a moist corn, that pus does not exist, then paring is to be discountenanced, for the reason that it only tends to weakening of the parts and to assist largely in the corn's recurrence. ”

“ Sweet Corn.—Fresh, soft, green, sweet corn contains about 75 per cent of water. The dry matter is half starch and one quarter sugar. The protein content makes up nearly 5 per cent, a larger proportional amount than is found in the ripened corn, due to the fact that the proteids are deposited in the early stages of growth and the carbohydrates mainly in the last stages. Sweet corn is a vegetable of high nutritive value and palatability. ”

“ The Limas must be made to emulate the pole-beans, the spinach, beets, and onions must be kept down to proper limits, the cucumbers and cabbages must be eliminated, and the cauliflowers encouraged. How to effect these changes, however, was not entirely clear to my mind.
Our corn grew remarkably well. Fresh sweet corn is a dish of which I am particularly fond; it is luscious, healthful, and appetizing; it contains much milk—the human being’s natural nourishment; it is excellent boiled or roasted on the cob, stewed in milk, or mixed with beans into succotash ”

“ The spirit of the corn, fleeing before the reapers as they cut down the ripe grain, quits the reaped corn and takes refuge in the barn, where it appears in the last sheaf threshed, either to perish under the blows of the flail or to flee thence to the still unthreshed corn of a neighbouring farm. Thus the last corn to be threshed is called the Mother-Corn or the Old Woman. Sometimes the person who gives the last stroke with the flail is called the Old Woman, and is wrapt in the straw of the last sheaf, or has a bundle of straw fastened on his back. ”

“ Sweet Corn Dried—As corn is more trouble to can than any of the other vegetables and more uncertain in its results, many housekeepers prefer to dry it, and a way that is very highly recommended is as follows: The corn is gathered when still in the milk stage, somewhat younger than for canning. It is necessary for two to handle the product as it must all be finished in one operation—that is, it is a one-day job, and a rather strenuous and busy one, too. ”

“ They speak of corn as their mother. The chief of a religious fraternity cherishes as his symbol of high authority an ear of corn in appropriate wrappings said to have belonged to the society when it emerged from the underworld. The baby, when twenty days old, is dedicated to the sun and has an ear of corn tied to its breast. ”

“ I do not mean that it should have three or four regular feeds of corn every day, like a horse; but if it is fed twice or thrice a day on cut hay and straw, mixed with a very few bruised oats, it will soon grow large and strong, and will display a degree of liveliness and spirit that those who only know asses in their degraded state would scarcely believe possible. ”

“ A proportion of Indian corn, either whole or in the form of scalded meal, is a good addition to the winter food. It contains a larger amount of warmth-giving fat or oil than any other grain, and, by so keeping up the temperature of the animal, sets free the other foods to be employed in the secretion of the substances that compose the eggs. ”

“ Next the outside hull is a dark and horny layer that is very rich in protein; in the center is the large germ, very rich in oil; between the two is a white layer of starch. It is found that the kernels on any ear are remarkably uniform in their content; the dissection of a few kernels, therefore, enables the breeder to determine the ears that are rich in any one of the substances. Experiment stations in the corn-growing States are already making great headway in this new breeding of corn, and one private concern in Illinois is taking it up as a commercial enterprise. ”

“ The fearful epidemics to which grain so infected has given rise are well known, though it is still a matter of question whether the ergoted corn owes its unwholesome qualities to the injury which it had sustained from the blight, or to the blight itself. ”

“ The popular opinion that corn is a heating and fattening food is therefore supported by chemical analyses. It will be seen from the table that the sweet corns contain much more fat and a larger per cent. of albuminoids than the other varieties. These, therefore, have a higher nutritive value. Whatever may have been said in favor of or against either the flint or dent varieties falls to the ground in the light of the average analyses of these classes when brought side by side. It will be seen that the differences are practically nothing. It is only a matter of fancy which is employed. ”

“ Green corn, even in city markets, is both indifferent and dear at this season. We do better, therefore, to fall back upon the invaluable canned vegetables that have made American housewives almost independent of changing seasons. Open a can of corn one hour before it is to be cooked. When ready for it turn into a farina-kettle; pour on just enough hot water to cover it, and cook half [574] an hour. Then, add a little milk, a good lump of butter cut up in flour, pepper and salt to taste, and cook fifteen minutes longer. ”

“ Probably the most important item in the vegetable food is corn, and by pulling up the newly sprouted seeds the bird renders himself extremely obnoxious. Observation and experiments with tame crows show that hard, dry corn is never eaten if anything else is to be had, and if fed to nestlings it is soon disgorged. The reason crows resort to newly planted fields is that the kernels of corn are softened by the moisture of the earth, and probably become more palatable in the process of germination, which changes the starch of the grain to sugar. ”

“ Where the ear is partially blind, or where without any external appearance of injury to the straw, the corn is light and shrivelled, I should be much inclined to suspect that the mischief arose from an insufficient impregnation. ”

“ Work gradually round and round and towards the centre. When you have for some considerable distance well loosened the edges, you can either with your fingers or with a pair of forceps generally remove the corn bodily, and that without pain and without the loss of any blood: this plan of treating a corn I can recommend to you as being most effectual. ”

“ Corn bread is a very common diet among all classes of people in the southern states and also to a considerable extent in the north.
Owing to the lack of agglutinating powers of the nitrogenous constituents of Indian corn flour, corn bread cannot be aerated or raised, as is the case with wheat bread. It is often eaten in an unleavened state. It may be partially leavened by the usual agent, namely, yeast or a chemical baking powder. Two varieties of bread are very commonly used, namely, that made of white flour or meal and that made of yellow. ”