8 THE BOOK OF WHEAT. 



the other Latin countries followed later. Rye is still exten- 

 sively used in Germany, but is gradually being superseded by 

 wheat. Even Russia is using more wheat flour than she did 

 twenty years ago. 



The great intrinsic food value of wheat; its ease of cultiva- 

 tion and preparation for use; its wide adaptation to different 

 climates and soils; its quick and bountiful return; and the 

 fact of its being paniferous and yielding such a vast number 

 and variety of products are all factors that enhance the value 

 of the wheat grain. Its combined qualitative and quantitative 

 importance gives to wheat a great superiority over any other 

 cereal, and causes it to be dealt in more extensively upon the 

 speculative markets than any other agricultural product. As 

 an essential part of the food of civilized man it becomes of an 

 importance so vital as to be dominating. 



CLASSIFICATION. 



The Classification of wheat seems always to have been in a 

 more or less chaotic state. This is especially true of the 

 nomenclature of varieties. Nor is the fault to be laid particu- 

 larly at the door of science. We have seen that wheat has 

 been continually migrating for many centuries. It is a plant 

 that is easily influenced by environment and therefore particu- 

 larly unstable in type. Since it has always been migrating to 

 new environments, a complete change in type often resulted, 

 though it was still known by the old name. This is further 

 complicated by the fact that the modern art of breeding wheat 

 has originated many new varieties. Add to this the fact that 

 wheat has been shipped all over the world, not only for 

 commercial purposes, but also for seed experiments, and it is 

 not surprising that the nomenclature of varieties is somewhat 

 tangled, that several varieties are known by the same name, 

 or that one variety may have several names, and may pass for 

 several varieties. It is among the most common wheats that 

 the difficulty has been most perplexing. 



Classes and Distribution. There are several kinds of the 

 less common wheats, such as Polish wheat, spelt and durum 

 wheat, which have very marked characteristics, and which 

 have perhaps not migrated so widely. In spite of some con- 

 fusion in names, it is generally possible to determine to whiclj 



