m*- w - Clpdigital.org

EAT MORE CORN
and LESS
WHEAT f
| by Robert H.Moulton
Editor's Note: All America has made its calm, grave resolution to fight this
war to a finish. Balking starvation at home and in Europe is to be one of the
most serious issues—almost on a par with the stern duty of driving the Teutonic
hordes back to Berlin and Vienna. It is our belief that this article points a way
in which this duty may be accomplished.
T H E most striking example 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 land which is its main
source of production. What wheat was
to the armies of old, corn could be to the
forces of the United States, France,
England, Italy, and Russia.
The legions of Hannibal and of Caesar
subsisted on whole wheat; Gaul's conqueror,
in his "Commentaries," tells how
soldiers chewed fruiuciititm 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 because of the valuable
salts and bone building constituents
656
which came from the wheaten diet of the
ancient soldiery.
Corn 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 a
saying of his that "if a man had a gun
and ten pounds of parched corn he could
easily live a year." His diet was a trick
learned from the Indians, who were able
to..withstand the fatigue of warpath and
hunting trail because of this simple and
quickly assimilated food. The corn, rich
in starch and protein, parched until it
was made quicklv digestible, was mixed
with water. A cupful of this simple food
had the effect almost instantly of
strengthening the tired body.
The Government of the United States