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Chemistry of a Kernel of Corn. [From Nichols' Chemistry of the Farm and the Sea.] In considering the curious and interesting chemical nature of "corn," we shall use the term as applied to the wheat berry, as well as to the seeds of the maize plant. Among the ancients, wheat was always designated as corn; and when we read of St. Paul's famous voyage in a "corn ship," we are to understand that the vessel was laden with Egyptian wheat. It is quite certain that neither the Apostle, nor the old Roman navigators, who held him a prisoner, ever saw a kernel of our Indian corn-the maize plant being indigenous to the American Continent.

The two grains are chemically constituted very much alike, and what may be said of one, applies with almost equal correctness to the other. Both are made up of starch, dextrine, gum, sugar, gluten, albumen, phosphates of lime, magnesia, potassa, with silica and iron. Wheat contains about double the amount of lime and iron, considerable more phosphoric acid, but less magnesia and soda. Maize seeds are rich in a peculiar oil, which is nourishing, and highly conducive to the formation of adipose or fatty matter; hence the high utility of our corn in fattening animals.

their low estate, and fitted to perform the high offices of nutrition in the animal organism. And should we not appropriate them to our use, as the most carefully adjusted of all materials designed for human aliment? Certainly we should. And do we? Unfortunately we cannot render an affirmative answer to the interrogatory. The sharp teeth of our burr mills drive ruthlessly through the rich wrapper of the kernel, and then the torn fragments pass to the bolt, and from that to the barn or stable; the animals obtain the nutritious gluten; the starch, in the form of fine flour, is set aside for household uses. But it is not designed to enlarge upon this point. Let us look at the chemical offices these substances found in the kernel of corn subserve in the animal economy.

Starch is the wood or coal, which, under the influence of oxygen, is to be consumed or burned to maintain animal warmth. It passes in as pure fuel; it is oxidized, and the ashes rejected through the respiratory organs. The warmth imparted by this combustion is necessary to the proper fulfilment of the functions of the body. Of these functions, those of digestion and assimilation are the most important. The digestive apparatus receives the gluten and the starch of the grain; the latter is pushed forward to be burned; the former enters the circulation and out of its contained iron, potash, soda, magnesia, lime, nitrogen, &c., are manufactured all the important tissues and organs of the body. All of the iron is retained in the blood, and much of the soda and phosphoric acid; the lime goes to the bones, and the magnesia very abruptly leaves the body, as it seems to be very plainly told that it is not wanted. Such, in brief, are the uses which the organic and inorganic constituents of a kernel of corn subserve in the chemistry of animal life.

What a remarkable combination of chemical substances are stored up in a kernel of corn! It may almost be said to be an apothecary shop in miniature; and the order and arrangement of the mineral elements and vegetable compounds, needed to render the comparison more apt, are not wanting. For some reason, Nature places the most valuable substances nearest the air and sunlight, while the little cells of the interior are full of that material used to keep erect and tidy our collars and neck-bands-starch. With a moistened cloth we can rub off from the kernel about three and a half per cent. of woody or strawy material, of not much nutritive value, The changes which they are made to unand then we come to a coating which holds dergo in the laboratory are almost equally innearly all the iron, potash, soda, lime, phos-teresting and important. Fecula, or starch, phoric acid and the rich nitrogenous ingredi- is a body of great interest, and is not found ents. This wrapper is the storehouse upon alone in corn. There is scarcely a plant or whose shelves are deposited the mineral and part of a plant which does not yield more or vegetable wealth of the berry. From whence less of this substance. What a curious vegecome these chemical agents? By what super- table is the potato! Swollen or puffed out by lative cunning are they grouped within the the enormous distention of the cellular tissue embrace of this covering? in which the starch is contained, it seems almost ugly in its deformity. It is little less than a mass of pure starch.

They come of course from the soil, and by the mysterious and silent power of vital force, they have been raised, atom by atom, from

If we separate the starch from the gluten

in corn, and boil it a few minutes with weak sulphuric acid, it undergoes a remarkable change, and becomes as fluid and limpid as water; and if we withdraw the acid, and evaporate to dryness, we have a new body, a kind of gum called "dextrine." But if we do not interrupt the boiling when it becomes thin and clear, but continue it for several hours, and then withdraw the acid by chemical means, we have remaining a sirupy liquid, very sweet to the taste, which will, if allowed to evaporate, solidify to a mass of grape sugar. This is the method of changing corn into sirup and sugar, about which so much has recently been said. It is a process long understood, and practically of little value. What is most extraordinary in this process is the at that the acid undergoes no diminution or change. It is all withdrawn in its original amount after the experiment; nothing is absorbed from the air, and no other substance but grape sugar generated. The play of chemical affinities lies between the amidine and the elements of water, grape sugar containing more oxygen and hydrogen, compared with the quantity of carbon, than the starch.

Nothing can be more striking than these changes. From the kernel of corn we obtain starch; this we change easily into gum, and, by the aid of one of the most powerful and destructive acids, transform it into sirup and sugar. A pound of corn starch may thus be made over into a little more than a pound of sugar of grapes. But this result can be accomplished in another way. Let us moisten the corn, place it in a warm room and allow it to germinate, just as do vegetables in a warm cellar. If in this condition it is dried, ground, and infused in water, a sweet liquid will be obtained, proving the presence of sugar. The change is produced in this experiment, by the presence of diastase, a substance supposed to exist in malt or germinated grain, but which is imperfectly understood. The quantity of diastase necessary to effect this curious metamorphosis in corn starch is very small. We are now ready to consider another most extraordinary change, which corn is capable of undergoing-that of being transformed into whiskey or alcohol.

If we take the sweet liquid obtained by the infusion of malted corn, and subject it to temperature of 60° or 70° F., it soon becomes turbid and muddy, bubbles of gas are scen to rise from all parts of the liquid, the tempera

ture rises, and there are signs of chemical action going on in it. After a while it slackens and soon stops altogether. Examination shows that it has Low completely lost its sweet taste, and acquired another quite distinct.— An intoxicating liquid is formed, and if we place it in a still, we obtain a colorless, inflammable liquid, easily recognised as alcohol. By a peculiar arrangement of the condensing apparatus of the still, a portion of the grain oils and a large amount of water are allowed to go over with the alcohol; and this constitutes whiskey. This is an example of the change called "vinous fermentation." The influence of a ferment or decomposing azotized body upon sugar is strange, and quite incomprehensible. Through its agency, we may cause the highly organized kernel of corn to take another step downward towards a dead, inorganic condition. We can transforin the alcohol over into acetic acid or vinegar, or the sugar may be formed into one of the most curious organic acids-the lactic; or, still further, it is capable of being changed into mauna, a substance supposed to resemble that upon which the Israelites subsisted in the wilderness.

As in these processes we follow the kernel of corn through the various changes, first into gum, then into sugar, then alcohol, then vinegar, and ultimately into carbonic acid and water, we obtain an imperfect idea of the marvels of vital chemistry. The mysteries of these reactions have been carefully studied, and in a measure unravelled; but the neces sary brief limits of this treatise will hardly allow of their consideration. The chemistry of a kernel of corn is a comprehensive topic, and to be considered even in its outlines would supply material sufficient for a volume. The aim has been to group together a few of the most interesting points, and thus awaken a desire for a more complete and satisfactory investigation.

The Amesbury Villager says that Mrs. F. Noyes of that place recently killed a Brahma rooster who had thirteen nickle cents in his crop, two two-cent picces, and other indigestible articles.

It takes 6,480,000 pounds of cotton to supply the daily demands of the cotton mills of the world.

Sunday Reading.

[From our Correspondence ]

“Your Sunday reading will do more good than you are aware of, amongst your numerour readers. If every journal had a column of the same tenor, the world would be wiser and better."

"Why did you omit the Sunday reading in the January number? I hope you do not mean to dispense with it hereafter."

Art thou a

Art thou bred up in a false religion? Think upon the wise men of the East. Art thou an unjust person? Think upon the publican. Hast thou lived in uncleanness? Think upon the harlot. Art thou a murderer? Think upon the thief upon the cross. profane person? Think upon St. Paul. If thou hast sinned, repent; if thou hast sinned a thousand times, repeat thy repentance as often. This is the balm I would pour into thy wounds, and this will assuage all the anguish of them. Thy repentance in comparison is but small, but the goodness of thy Lord is exceeding great. Leave off your doubts and wonder, and stand amazed, and magnify this spiritual physician. Shall God be dis

These are extracts from recent letters of highly esteemed correspondents, from very distant points, and of very different views on many questions of religious controversy.They give us the best assurance that we have not made a vain attempt to have these read-posed to put away thy sin? and shall the guilt ings generally acceptable to those who really love "the Truth as it is in Jesus."-EDS. FAR.

The devil is an assistant genius to the corruption of our natures-a constant agent in the sins of men. Being a spiritual agent, he must needs be supposed to have a nearer access to the soul, than any material cause whatsoever; being also an intelligent agent, of a vast and capacious understanding by nature, and particularly improved in the black art of tempting, by a long experience of its wiles and stratagems, he must be fully instructed, when and how to apply himself to every age and constitution, and that which gives his temptations a vast advantage over us, is, that we know not how to distinguish them from the motions of our own hearts; and when he can convey his poison into us, in such an invisible manner, without discovering his devil's face, which he can; thus prompt us behind the curtain, and so distinguish his whispers, that we cannot decern them from the secret lustings of our own hearts, how can we be safe, without great care and watchfulness, from the malice of such a formidable enemy?

We view moral truths through the veil of allegories and parables, like so many pictures through transparent glass, which covers, but does not hide them. Some of the most important spiritual sentiments are made easy to us by the most familiar sensible images. Thus does the truth, like the great Author of it, stand confessed in a visible shape; receive, as it were, a body; and become, if I may use the expression, incarnate.

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of any sins be too great for His mercy? None are lost if they do not give themselves up for lost, and so are discouraged from repentance.

I could not but think, as I have often remarked to others, that much more of true religion consists in deep humility, brokenness of heart, and an abasing sense of barrenness and want of grace and holiness, than most, who are called Christians, imagine; especially those who have been esteemed the converts of the late day, many of whom seem to know of no other religion, but elevated joys and affections, arising only from some flights of imagination or some suggestion made to their mind of Christ's being theirs, God's loving them, and the like.

There is an old custom of saying, when light is brought in, "God sends us the light of heaven!" and the parson likes this very well; neither is he afraid of praising, or praying to God at all times, but is rather glad of catching opportunities to do them.

O the infelicity of the human race! This world is full of sorrow, and yet we love it; only suppose it were full of joy, how should we love it then? A stormy, tempestuous world is loved; what if it were calm and tranquil?

Among all the graces that adorn a Christian soul, like so many jewels of various colors and lustres, against the day of her espousal to the Lamb of God, there is not one more brilliant than humility.

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FERTILIZERS.-Peruvian Guano. $82; California $70; Rodunda Island $30; Patapsco Co's $60; Reese & Co's Soluble Pacific Guano, $65; Flour of Bone, $to; G. Ober's (Kettlewells) AA Manipulated, $70; A do. $60; Ammoniated Alkaline Phosphate, $55; Alkaline Phos. $45; Baltimore City Company's Fertilizer, $40; do., Flour of Bone, $60; do., Ground Bone, $45; do., Poudrette, $20; Baugh's Raw-bone Phosphate, $56; Baugh's Chicago Bone Fertilizer, $46; Baugh's Chicago Blood Manure, $50; Maryland Powder of Bone, $50; Rhodes' Super Phosphate, $55; Lister's Bone Super-Phosphate $55; Berger & Butz's Super-Phosphate of Lime, $56; Andrew Coe's Super-Phosphate of Lime, $60;-all per ton of 2,000 lbs.; Pure Ground Plaster, $13.50a$14.00 per ton, or $2 50 per bbl. Shell Lime slaked, 6c., unslaked, 10c per bushel, at kilns.

FLOUR.-Howard Street Super, $9.50a10.00; High Grades, $11.50a11.75; Family, $12.50a13.00; City Mills Super, $9.50a10.00; Baltimore Family, $14.00a14.50. Rye Flour and Corn Meal.-Rye Flour, $8.00a8.50; Corn Meal, $6 00; Buckwheat, $5.90a6 00 per 100 lbs. GRAIN. Wheat.-Good to prime Red, $2 50a2.80; White, $2 60a2.80.

Rye.-$1.50a1.55 per bushel.

Oats.-Heavy to light-ranging as to character from 80 a82c. per bushel.

Corn.-White, $1 16a1.18; Yellow, $1 16a1.17 per

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Coal Tar and Gravel for Stable Floors and Walks.... 270
Preliminary Notice of Results on the Composition of
Wheat grown for 20 years in succession on the
same land.....

Value of Poultry Manure.......
Thorough Cultivation...

How Fowls Grind their Food.........
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad............
Egyptian Corn Swindle............................................
New Brunswick Oats........................................

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Report of Commissioner of Labor and Agriculture.. 275
Southern Planter and Farmer.......
Benevolent Institutions..........
False Packing of Tobacco.........
Hop Growing..

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Advertisements................................. Chemical Manuring.

A New Agricultural Monthly....

The Use of Paper.........

The Royal Agricultural College at Cirencester...... 279 Lime-Guano-Peas-Clover.......

Flour Making......

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The Fair at New Orleans.......

Chemistry of a Kernel of Corn.........

Sunday Reading

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MAY.

BALTIMORE, MAY, 1868.

"Fairer and brighter spreads the reign of May; The tresses of the woods

With the light dallying of the West wind play.
And the full-brimming floods,

As gladly to their goal they run,
Hail the returning sun."

Work for the Month.

It may be supposed that the breaking of all turf land, for whatever crop, is now completed. Otherwise let it be done as quickly as circumstances will allow, and do not neglect to close the seams with harrow or roller, to insure rotting the sod.

CORN CROP.

Hasten the necessary preparation for this crop, that it may be planted by the 10th, or at farthest by the 15th, on thoroughly worked soil. The growth will be quicker and healthier, and less liable to damage by insects, if the preparation be good.

Corn should never be planted without using tar for the protection of the seed from birds. It may be softened and thinned by pouring boiling water upon it-then into a peck of seed, stir in the tar until the grains be well coated. It will preserve the seed from both birds and insects, and also against decay, in case of long cold weather, after planting. It does not retard germination, as has been supposed.

Manures for this crop, as we have often suggested for all spring-planted crops, should be put on the ground at the earliest practica

Vol. II.-No. 11.

ble time, as they fail sometimes for want of rain enough to dissolve them.

Manure in the hill for corn should be some well-rotted compost, or a mixture of rich earth, ashes and plaster, a handful to the hill; a table spoonful of guano, mixed with a double quantity of dry earth and a little plaster; manure from the poultry house, with an equal quantity of plaster, pounded and mixed together with a bushel of salt to five of the mixture, a handful to the hill. Well prepared poudrette makes a good application for the hill, or a small handful of some good superphosphate. It is better and safer to make the application on top of the ground, immediately after covering. On rich or well manured ground, manuring in the hill is not necessary.

TOBACCO.

The leisure season after corn planting should be diligently used to get rid of the old crop of tobacco still on hand. Get all that may still be hanging, or in small, two-course bulks, packed closely in large bulks, and weighted heavily; from these bulks it may be at any time transferred to the hogsheads, and packed for market.

Let tobacco beds have constant care-picking them of grass whenever necessary, and following with a dressing of fine manure.

Towards the close of the month there may be a portion of the plants fit to set out. At so early a period, it will be advisable to plant out small plants, if they be thick in the beds and very abundant. The beds will, in that case, be benefited. If not plentiful, do not

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