GRASSES OF IOWA. 125 



Simmonds*, Harzf, Tschirch and Oesterlet, Snyder and Voor- 

 hees§, Neftelll, Plumbl, Hehn, **William.s f f , Lamson-Scrib- 

 nerJJ, Buschan§§. 

 paper on maize, thinks, from evidence of archaeology, history. 



Maize. {Zea Mays, L.) — Harshberger published an extended 

 ethnology and philology that central and southern Mexico is 

 the original home of maize. This is supported by the facts of 

 botany and meteorology. Several closely related genera are 

 of Mexican origin, as Euchlaena and Tripsacum. The latter 

 genus occurs as far north as southern Iowa. Naturalists gener- 

 ally agree that closely related species and genera had their 

 origin from some common progenitor. 



The Indians probably first found the plant in the region 

 above 4,500 feet altitude and south of 22° north latitude and 

 north of the river Coatzacoalcos and the isthmus of Tehuantepec. 

 It probably reached the Rio Grande about 700 A. D., and by the 

 year 1000 had reached the coast of Maine. It was introduced 

 into Europe soon after the discovery of America. 



Paje{Secale cereale L.) — Rye has not been long in cultivation, 

 according to DeCandoUe || || , unless perhaps in Russia and Thrace. 

 It has not been found in the Egyptian monuments and there is 

 no name for it in the Semitic languages, nor Sanskrit, nor the 

 languages derived from Sanskrit. 



It appears to have originated in Europe, where it was 

 anciently cultivated, and it is probable that it originated in 

 the regions between the Austrian Alps and north of the Cas- 

 pian sea. The other known species of the genus Secale inhabit 

 western central Asia or the southeast of Europe. In central 

 Asia rye is spontaneous and grows as thickly as though sown. 



Barley. {Hordeum sativum, Jessen.) — This cereal is without 

 doubt one of the most ancient of cultivated plants, and is sup- 

 posed to have originated from H. spontaneum, Koch, which 



♦Simmonds, P. L. Tropical Agriculture. 513. 1877. 



+Harz. Landw. Samenkunde. 1 : 552. 2:552-1363. 



^Tschirch & OsterJe Anatomlscher Atlas der Pharmakognosle and Nahrungs- 

 mittelkunde. 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 52, 53. "^ 



gSnvder & Voorhees. Studies on bread and bread-making. Bull, of U. S. Dept. of 

 Agrl. 67: 56. 



IINeftel, Flour milling process. 10th Census Rep. 3: 22. 6 pi. 



TPlumb. The Geographic Distribution of Cereals in North America, Bull. Dlv. of 

 Biological Survey. U. S. Dept. of Agrl. 11:24. vl- 1- 



**Heha. Kulturpflanzen und Haustlere. in Ihrem Uebergang aus Asien nach 

 Griechenland und Italien sowie In das ubrlge Europa. 522. 1887. 



•H-Willlams. Millets. O. Exp. Sta. Farmer's Bull. U. S. Dept. of Agr. 101: 28. 6. 



t:tLamson-Scribner. Grasses of Tennessee. Bull. Agr. Exp. Sta. Tenn. 5: 2. 



§§Buschan. VorgeschichtUche Botanik d. Oultur. u. Nutzpflanzen d. alten Welt 

 auf grund prahlstorlscher Punde. 368. 1895. 



IIIIDeOandolle Origin of Oult. PI. 370. 



