BREAD PLANTS 33 



bearded wheat; the prickly, needle-like beard 

 makes the handling of the grain at harvest time 

 very hard on the hands of those who bind and 

 stack the grain. The flower of rye is similar to 

 to the flower of wheat. 



The grain contains more bran than wheat, and 

 less starch, but more sugar. Rye bread is dark 

 in color and sweet, with a flavor ^that is pleasantly 

 aromatic and slightly sour. It spoils the flour 

 to grind rye fine and discard its bran, for therein 

 the characteristic taste is found. 



Rye is particularly susceptible to attack by a 

 fungus called ergot, whose black or purplish body 

 develops at the expense of the kernel. The 

 destruction of a part of the grain crop is not all 

 the harm this disease does to the farmer. Cattle 

 fed on hay and grain infected with the fungus are 

 gradually poisoned; they develop loathsome sores, 

 and may lose hoofs, tail, ears, and horns as the 

 disease progresses. 



To prevent the spread of ergot in grain fields 

 and pastures, infected plants must be cut and 

 destroyed. Farmers who understand that the 

 spores are carried by wind to fields in bloom are 

 careful to have roadside grasses cut. They also 

 dip their seed grain in a fungicide, like diluted 

 formalin. 



