Sponsors Provost & Pritchard Johnson Surveying Hartwig GIS

• Corn originated in North, Central and South America
• Some petrified corn dates back over 5,000 years
• Mayan, Aztec and Inca Indians were the 1^st corn farmers
• Corn leaves contain large amounts of sugar and were used as "chewing gum" by the Indians.  They also made "popcorn" by roasting dry kernels in a fire.  Corn was also ground to make flour, soup and pudding.
• Indians taught settlers how to grow corn by digging a small hole, dropping in kernels AND a small fish, then covering them with foil.  The fish was used for fertilizer.
• Corn was so valuable to the settlers, that it was used in place of money
• Corn is a grass
• Today's corn is much different than that of our ancestor's.  Today's corn is much taller and produces much larger ears
• Average ear of corn is 12" to 14" in length and contains approximately 800 kernels arranged on 16 rows
• Each corn plant has the ability to form 6 to 10 ears, although only one to two actually develop
• Each individual silk is attached to a potential kernel site (no pollination = missing kernels)
• Tassel is male part of plant
• Silk is female part of plant
• Corn is usually planted in March, April, May, June or July
• Corn usually takes 90-120 days to mature
• Bushel of corn weighs 56 lbs.
• There are approximately 72,800 kernels in a bushel
• The Corn Belt is comprised of Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and Minnesota.  50% of all corn grown in the US comes from there.
• Thre are over 3,500 uses for corn. Some include soap, "packing peanuts", ink, absorbent, auto fuel, livestock feed, sweetener, oil and people food
• Corn is the #1 sweetener in most soft drinks
• Corn likes warm soil (55¬∫ or more)
• Corn is planted 1" to 2" deep and 10" and 12" apart in a row
• Always plant at least two rows so corn can pollinate and develop ears
• One tiny seed can produce between 800-1000 new plants
• Only 8% of the weight in a box of Corn Flakes is corn
• Corn is beneficial to the environment as it absorbs carbon dioxide and gives off oxygen (just like a rainforest)
• Corn = Maize (in Spanish)

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    Maze Facts

• Maze = Labyrinth (lab-i-rinth)
• Mazes date back at least 4000 years
• Mazes originally were not puzzles, but rather a single convoluted path.
• During Medieval times, mazes were used as a form of protection from marauders.
• Farmers protected crops, livestock and property with mazes.
• Castle often had mazes to confuse enemy attackers.
• Puzzle mazes began during the Italian Renaissance for the amusement of Kings and Princes.
• 19^th century provided the first hedge mazes for public amusement.
• Japan built over 200 mazes during the 1980's.
• Britain has over 125 public mazes.
• 1^st cornfield maze was created in 1993 in Pennsylvania.
• Today, over 1,000 cornfield mazes are grown in the US annually.
• The corn from the mazes will be harvested for cattle feed.

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