Corn, sometimes referred to as maize, was second in importance only to cotton in Texas. The ear of corn is the flower or bloom portion of the corn stalk. The process of harvesting corn begins by picking the ears by hand. Once the ears have been removed from the stalk, the outer covering or husk must be removed. After the corn has been shucked, the kernels are removed by a process known as shelling. Unlike cotton, the majority of corn produced in Texas was consumed locally as food and fodder (animal feed). In 1849 Texas produced 5,978,000 bushels of corn, 25 times more than other grain crops; by 1859 the number had risen to 16 million bushels (48 ears per bushel). We’ll let you do the math.
Did you know? 19th century Texans used corn cobs for bottle stoppers, pipes, tool handles, torches, fishing floats, firewood, and meat smoking fuel.
Using a corn sheller at Log Cabin Village--Fort Worth, TX from logcabinvillage on Vimeo.
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