THE STORY OF A GRAIN OF WHEAT. 



C. A. Zavitz, B.S.A. 



A grain of wheat is very Tmall. It is much smaller than the smallest 

 clay marble that I ever made or that I ever saw. In fact it is so small 

 that a little ant is able to carry it from one place to another. Boys and g^irls 

 gfreatly enjoy makinof clay marbles. They can become very much in- 

 terested also in trying" to make grains of wheat out of clay and water. 

 EveTH with the g^reatest of care and the best of success, however, only 

 artificial grains of wheat can be made in this way. No person, either 



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Suse 

 "Fis. 17. Back view. 



asi 



Cross section. 



tii'i\ 



Front view. 



young- or'old, can make a real grain of wheat; yet a real wheat grain is of 

 much greater value and is of far greater interest for the boys and the 

 girls to examine and to study than even the prettiest artificial grain of 

 wheat which was ever made. Allow me to tell you a few of the many 

 interesting things about a genuine living grain of wheat. 



An average grain of wheat is about one-quarter of an inch in length, 

 and one-half as wide as it is long. The hairy end is known as the brush 

 and the opposite end is usually called the base. Along the front side is 

 a well defined crease or furrow extending the entire length of the grain. 

 This crease should be narrow and not very deep. The portion on either 



side of the crease is called the bosom, 

 which should be large, plump, and rather 

 smooth. The backs of some grains are 

 curved and those of others are actually 

 humped Most grains have a slightly 

 wavy appearance along the central part 

 of the bacK, but some are so plump that 

 the wavy appearance is scarcely noticeable. 

 There is still another part to be mentioned, 

 and that is the rough portion near the base 

 and at the back of the grain. This is the 

 covering to the embryo, or germ, or seed 

 proper. The embryo itself can be readily 

 Fig-. 18. Grain of wheat sproutingr, four examined if you first sctak the grain of 

 tajs, m crioun . wheat in water tor about a day, and then 



carefully remove this covering. A grain of wheat is made up of three 

 principal parts, — the bran, or skin; the endosperm, or flour ; and the 

 embryo, or germ. The grain should be plump, the skin thin and nearly 

 smooth, and the germ fairly prominent. 



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Side view. 



Back \iew. 



