According to pre-Hispanic traditions, gods gave native Mexicans the first maize seeds and from then on, and for thousands of years, maize has been a vital element to the Latin American cultures. Biologically, maize is an orphan plant and has only one relative, the annual teosinte (1). Morphologically the two are similar, but they differ strikingly in the pistillate inflorescence (what becomes the cob). For our discussion, the most notable difference is that the maize cob is solid, whereas the teosinte cob is brittle and comes apart at maturity. Molecular analysis has shown that maize was domesticated in the Balsas River drainage (Mexico) 6000 years ago (2). Primitive cobs found in caves and other archaeological sites share the same characteristics: they are of small size and are, invariably, solid. This is of major importance--viable seeds can only be released by mechanical means (basically by humans). Maize does not disperse itself and therefore does not exist as a free species in nature...