THE WHEAT GRAIN AND PLANT 



17 



weight of water. It loses 1.5 per cent of its own weight in 24 

 hours, 6.7 per cent in 90 hours, and 11.8 per cent in 144 hours. 

 Besides the loss in weight, marked chemical changes take place 

 which greatly decrease its value for bread baking purposes, 

 and probably also as a food for stock. Great loss may thus be 

 occasioned by the sprouting of wheat in field, shock, stack or 

 bin. Experiments indicate that sprouted wheat will regermi- 

 nate and form healthy sprouts until the stem (plumule) has 

 reached a length of %-inch in the first germination, and an 

 average of 80 per cent of all sprouted wheat with the length 

 of the stem not exceeding %-inch will again germinate. 1 



Stooling or Tillering. Wheat, like other cereals, has the 

 characteristic of throwing out side shoots after the plumule 

 has appeared above the surface. These branches or culms may 

 form at any node covered with soil. The num- 

 ber of such stalks from one seed varies much 

 with conditions. There are usually at least six, 

 but there may be from two to several dozen 

 in extreme cases, 52 spikes having been ob- 

 served. As a rule, the more favorable the con- 

 ditions for plant growth, and the thinner the 

 wheat is on the ground, the more it tillers. 

 Cool weather during early development may re- 

 sult in a long period of subsequent growth 

 which encourages tillering. Time of seeding 

 also has great influence, for late sown wheat 

 may not have time to stool. The habit varies 

 quite materially in different varieties. While 

 thinner sown wheat may tiller more, a greater 

 amount of seed per acre . often increases the 

 yield, even though there are fewer stools. 

 Pliny is said to have declared that it was not 

 uncommon in northern Africa and in Italy to find from 200 to 

 400 stalks of wheat growing from a single kernel. Humboldt 

 put on record that in Mexico each grain of wheat produced 40 

 to 70 stalks. It is probable that each of these men was seeing 

 with the eyes of an enthusiast. 



The Growth of a Wheat Plant is the aggregate result of the 

 enlargement and multiplication of the cells which comprise it. 

 1 Kept. N. D. Sta,, 1901, p. 107. 



