CHAPTER II 
CEREALS 
14. What cereals are. The ancient Romans, long before 
the Christian era, held each year at seed-time and harvest 
great festivals in honor of their goddess Ceres whom they 
worshiped as the giver of grain. In these celebrations offer- 
ings of wheat and barley, called cerealia munera or “gifts of 
Ceres,” held a most important part. Thus it was that the 
bread-producing grains came to be known as cerealia or 
cereals. We now include under this name not only wheat 
and barley but also rice, oats, rye, maize or Indian corn, 
and a few other grains of less importance, such as buckwheat. 
15. Characteristics of cereals. The general appearance 
of the most important grain-plants is shown in Figs. 1 to 15. 
As will be seen, they all agree in having narrow grass-like 
leaves, and slender upright stems bearing numerous flowers 
in ‘‘ears”’ or “‘heads,”’ and finally, kernels enclosed by “‘ chaff” 
or “husks.” In all but maize each separate kernel is covered 
completely by two or more of these chaffy envelopes, and 
even in maize some thin papery chaff may be seen attached 
E. to the cob at the base of each kernel. All the cereals are 
annuals; that is to say, each completes its span of life within 
ayear. All of those mentioned, except buckwheat, are grasses 
which have been more or less changed from their wild state 
by ages of cultivation. 
Let us look more closely at the flowers of the oat. Although 
appearing rather unlike what we ordinarily call flowers, 
they have, as will be seen from Figs. 2 and 3, all the parts 
essential to a true flower. Indeed, because of their simplicity 
and perfection they afford a convenient standard with which 
to compare other flowers. In the center of the oat flower, 
as of flowers in general, is a pistil, in which may be distin- 
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