1 906-190 7-] The Graminece under Economic Aspects. 397 



is what is known as two-rowed barley. Its cultivation is also 

 of great antiquity. It has a much wider range than wheat, 

 ripening its seeds in the cold summers of the north as well as 

 in the hot summers of the south. It succeeds best on light 

 sandy or loamy loose land. What we produce here and what 

 we import are entirely used for distilling or brewing. On the 

 continent of Europe, however, barley bread is extensively used 

 by the poorer classes. 



Avena sativa, or the Oat, is another cereal flourishing in the 

 temperate zones, and particularly in those countries having a 

 cool moist climate such as our own. There are three principal 

 groups, distinguished by their colour, — white, black, and dun. 

 The first is used for man's consumption in various forms, and 

 the others for feeding horses, &c. Oats are now regarded by 

 many farmers as their best-paying cereal crop. Oat-straw is 

 almost as valuable as that of wheat. Although there is a 

 large importation of oats and oatmeal, the quality and flavour 

 of the home-grown are superior, and it fetches a better price. 



Nearly allied to Avena sativa is Secale cereale or Rye, 

 which used to be more extensively cultivated in our country 

 than is the case now. Kye, however, is a very important pro- 

 duct in such countries as Germany, Eussia, and Austria, where 

 it forms the daily bread of vast numbers. The " Schwartz- 

 brod " of Germany is made from it. It is also largely used 

 for distilling, the spirit called hollands being obtained 

 from it. 



The foregoing comprise the cereals cultivated in our own 

 country, and we now come to a group generally designated 

 Millets, which for tropical and sub -tropical countries are 

 quite as important as those we have already considered. In 

 the South of Europe we find two varieties cultivated — viz., 

 Panicum miliaceum and Setaria italica. The Italians make 

 from the flour a coarse bread, but its main use is a food 

 for poultry and horses. It is only imported into this country 

 as a food for cage-birds. 



Millet (Sorghum vulgare) constitutes the diet of vast popu- 

 lations in Egypt, Equatorial Africa, China, and India. In the 

 latter country the millets comprise a more important crop than 

 either rice or wheat. They are autumnal harvest crops, being 

 generally sown in the early weeks of the monsoon — i.e., June 



