CULTIVATION AND GROWTH 19 



known as cultivation, and plants so grown are 

 called the cultivated or domestic plants. 



The Cultivation of Wheat. - - Cultivation of 

 wheat consists essentially of three processes, - 

 preparation of the seed bed, seed selection, and 

 planting. The crop is grown in many countries 

 under diverse conditions of soil, climate, and even 

 of people. It is interesting, therefore, to study 

 the processes involved in wheat raising in our 

 country and to compare our methods with those 

 of foreign lands. 



Plowing the Soil. - The first work in the prep- 

 aration of the seed bed is to loosen the upper por- 

 tion of the soil, usually to depths of from three to 

 eight inches. The tool for this work varies from 

 the crooked stick used by some of the savages or 

 semicivilized peoples to that of the large tractor 

 plows used on the Great Plains. A long-bladed 

 hoe is still in use among isolated mountaineers in 

 Switzerland, northwest Spain, and parts of Nor- 

 way. 



Even in fairly important wheat sections of 

 Egypt, Asia Minor, and the Balkan States, some 

 very crude plows are used. One-handled wooden 

 plows with only a steel point are common in those 

 districts. These plows are drawn by cattle, don- 

 keys, or camels which work singly or in pairs and 

 sometimes in peculiar combinations. For instance 

 it is not an uncommon sight to see a farmer plow- 



