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00:30The exact ancestry of corn is a matter of doubt.
00:33Corn as we know it today could not have existed in the wild.
00:37Many scientists believe that it developed from teosinte,
00:43which has a tassel like corn,
00:45but unlike corn, the ears grow in clusters
00:48and are composed of a few kernels arranged end to end
00:52instead of growing on a cob.
00:56Others believe the ancestor of corn
00:58was a plant resembling modern gamma grass.
01:01This plant had several tassels
01:03which contained both male pollen and female seeds.
01:07The lower part of the tassel contained the female seeds,
01:11shown in red,
01:12and the upper part contained the male pollen,
01:15shown in yellow.
01:16In the course of evolution,
01:18the tassels at the top produced only male pollen.
01:21The tassels on the branches only female seeds.
01:26These branches shortened,
01:30and their tassels were enclosed by husks.
01:34Later, the tassels developed into a crude ear.
01:40This early ancestor of corn
01:42grew on the sunny slopes of the high cordilleras
01:45many centuries ago.
01:47Its glistening pods went unnoticed by the roving hunter,
01:51for he was intent only on his search for game.
02:08The Indian lived on what he could kill.
02:11To eat and sleep was all that he asked for.
02:14As long as game was plentiful, he lived well.
02:17But there were times when game grew scarce.
02:19The search for food drove him far and wide.
02:25Wearied and hungry, he resorted to eating roots.
02:28But that was not enough.
02:31It was then that the waving tassels of grain drew his eye.
02:39He had now found a practical solution to his food problem.
02:43And so, through his discovery of corn,
02:46the civilization of the Americas began.
02:49To the crude clamshell hole,
02:52he dug the earth,
02:53planted his very best kernels.
02:56An offering to the corn gods
02:58was made to ensure an abundant crop.
03:01At every harvest,
03:03he selected his finest ears for seed
03:05and blessed them in the sacred waters of salt,
03:09which he believed improved its growth.
03:13Because corn was so vital to his existence,
03:16he erected great temples to the corn gods.
03:19The civilization of the Mayas
03:21was built around the growth and worship of corn.
03:29Yom Kosh was the green god,
03:31patron of growing corn.
03:34An amazing calendar was developed by the Maya
03:37to chart his planting and harvesting.
03:40To the gods who held the four corners of the earth,
03:43this symbol for planting was dedicated.
03:46The Maya planted four grains to the hill.
03:49And today, many farmers still plant four seeds to the hill.
03:53One for the blackbird,
03:55one for the crow,
03:56one for the cutworm,
03:57and one to grow.
04:01A few centuries later,
04:02the Aztecs rose to power.
04:05Their great civilization, too,
04:06was built on corn.
04:09Cynthia Oto was their corn goddess.
04:12But Lique was Mother Earth.
04:14Human lives were sacrificed to her
04:16to ensure that their blood
04:17might increase her fertility.
04:20In the Andes,
04:22existed one of the greatest civilizations
04:23of the ages,
04:25the Incas.
04:26They farmed in terraces
04:27far up the steep mountainsides.
04:29They worshipped the sun god,
04:31on whose bounty they depended
04:33for their precious corn.
04:40They developed corn with giant kernels,
04:43three times regular size.
04:48corn migrated into the Argentine,
04:51Brazil,
04:52across the Rio Grande,
04:54far north into Canada.
04:57Corn was carried to Europe
04:58by the conquistadores,
05:00to North Africa
05:01by the Barbary pirates.
05:03Corn has grown along the Danube,
05:05the Nile,
05:06in South Africa,
05:07India,
05:08China,
05:09a vital force
05:10in the economic life
05:11of the world.
05:13Corn is our heritage
05:15from the Indian.
05:16From its golden kernels,
05:18we make tortillas,
05:19enchiladas,
05:20tamales.
05:21He gave us corn bread,
05:23hominy,
05:24succotash,
05:25corn mush,
05:26forerunners of cornflakes.
05:28He taught us the joys
05:30of eating popcorn
05:31and roasting ears.
05:33From the Indian,
05:34we learned to ferment corn.
05:38The skill and patience
05:39of this early ancestor
05:41created a new civilization.
05:43To him,
05:44we owe much.
05:46Today,
05:46we plow a dozen furrows
05:48at a time,
05:49plant many acres
05:50in a day,
05:51pick and husk
05:52by machines.
05:54We do in 15 hours
05:56what the early Maya
05:57required 500 to do.
06:00Much has been learned
06:02about corn,
06:03the most important
06:04of which is inbreeding.
06:06Now,
06:06to accomplish this,
06:07a paper sack
06:08is slipped over the tassel.
06:10Then,
06:11transparent bags
06:12are placed
06:12over the ear chutes
06:14before the silks emerge
06:15to prevent pollinization
06:17from other plants.
06:20When the silks are out
06:22and the tassel is shedding,
06:24pollen is released
06:25into the sack
06:26covering the tassel.
06:28Now,
06:29the bag is removed
06:30from the ear chute
06:31and the sack
06:32containing pollen
06:33is slipped over the ear.
06:35In this way,
06:36the silks are fertilized
06:38with pollen
06:38from the same plant.
06:40This is known
06:41as inbreeding.
06:42After each generation
06:44of inbreeding,
06:45the resulting seeds
06:46produce smaller corn
06:48until a pure strain
06:49is reached
06:50and sizes remain fixed.
06:52This may seem odd
06:53to deliberately produce
06:55smaller plants,
06:56but just wait
06:57and we'll see
06:57what happens
06:58when two unrelated
06:59inbred strains
07:01are joined
07:01in wedlock.
07:10My, my,
07:12what a child!
07:13Stronger stalks
07:14and increased yield,
07:15making better seed corn
07:17for bigger crops.
07:19Of the total production
07:20of corn
07:20in the United States,
07:2275% goes
07:23for feeding livestock.
07:25Cattle,
07:26sheep,
07:26horses,
07:27mules,
07:28and hogs.
07:31More hogs
07:32make more little pigs
07:33and more pigs
07:34make more little sausages
07:35and vice versa.
07:37Corn increases
07:38the cream content,
07:40builds up
07:40little calves.
07:43Surplus corn
07:44fattens the feeder
07:45from the range
07:46more economically
07:47than any other crop,
07:48converting him
07:49into choicest beef.
07:51and they love
07:53it, too.
07:54Just watch.
07:56Whee!
07:57Whee!
07:58Whee!
08:17Whee!
08:17Yes, sir,
08:18corn has
08:19what it takes.
08:21And now
08:21comes the chemist
08:22who has discovered
08:23and developed
08:24many products
08:25from corn.
08:27The kernel
08:28consists of
08:28two main parts,
08:30the endosperm
08:31and the germ
08:33from which oil
08:34is extracted,
08:35furnishing salad oil
08:36for your table,
08:38cooking oil
08:39for your kitchen.
08:40From the endosperm,
08:42the chief product
08:43obtained
08:43is starch.
08:45Starch used
08:46in making ice cream,
08:47pudding,
08:48pies like
08:49mother used to make.
08:51And starch
08:52that stiffens
08:52your shirt.
08:54Starch makes
08:55sizing for textiles,
08:57paste for the
08:57bill poster,
08:58and mucilage
08:59for postage stamps.
09:01From starch
09:02comes glucose,
09:03rich golden syrup
09:05for cornbread,
09:06griddle cakes,
09:08jams,
09:08preserves.
09:09In surgery,
09:11glucose replaces
09:12sugars lost
09:13from the blood.
09:14Starch makes
09:15sugar,
09:16the sweet tooth
09:17of the corn,
09:18quick energy
09:19as candy.
09:20It's the body
09:21and flavor
09:21of your soft drink,
09:23the boost
09:23in your beer.
09:25Corn sugar
09:26is one of nature's
09:27most easily
09:28assimilated foods.
09:29Doctors prescribe it,
09:31babies cry for it.
09:34As science
09:36scans the glass
09:37of the future,
09:38it sees new
09:39vital uses
09:40for corn,
09:41alcohols,
09:42for power fuels,
09:44high explosives,
09:45tires from corn,
09:47fabric for parachutes,
09:48better than silk,
09:49plastics,
09:50tupper than steel,
09:51for cars,
09:52for tanks,
09:53men of war,
09:55ships of peace,
09:57farm machines,
09:58streamline trains,
10:00and buildings
10:01of the future,
10:02of plastics,
10:04monuments
10:04to corn.
10:06It's a far cry
10:08from those
10:09primitive days
10:10when the waving grain
10:11attracted the roving hunter.
10:13Little did he realize
10:14the store of riches
10:16they contained.
10:17The botanists
10:18called it
10:19Zéa Mays,
10:20that which sustains
10:21the Mayas.
10:23How much more truly
10:24might we say today
10:25that which sustains
10:27the world?
10:27in Zéa Mays.
10:30Bye.
10:30Bye.
10:32Bye.
10:34Bye.
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