286 THE SMALL GRAINS 



production. The chief cereal in this region is rye, which 

 has been much improved and locally segregated into 

 hundreds of different varieties. Barley is also important, 

 and is chiefly of the two-row type. The wheat and oat 

 varieties are those adapted to humid areas. Much spelt 

 and emmer are produced. 



299. The French-Italian region. This region, in 

 respect to cereal cultivation, is similar to the preceding, 

 but there is a smaller proportion of rye. Hardy winter 

 wheats of very good quality, including the well-known 

 Rieti, are grown in the highlands of Italy. In southern 

 Italy, durum wheat is found largely because of the par- 

 tiality of Italians for macaroni, and not entirely because 

 of adaptation for this kind of wheat. An excellent black 

 winter emmer and certain poulard wheats are grown in 

 France. 



300. India. In proportion to total production, the 

 cereal varieties in India are numerous. The same thing 

 is true of rice, in both India and China. Such a condition 

 is probably due to the great age of agriculture in those 

 countries, thus permitting extensive local adaptations, 

 that would only be possible in a long period of time. 

 Earliness is a common characteristic of Indian cereals. 

 Many of the wheats are of the soft, white or red-kerneled 

 types of the common subspecies, adapted for considerable 

 rainfall, but there are also many durum and club varieties 

 adapted to drier districts. A few fairly hardy winter 

 wheats are found in the Northwest Provinces and near 

 the Himalaya Mountains. Early and hulless barleys 

 are also found in the latter district. 



301. East China- Japan region. The most striking 

 characteristic of the cereals of this region is their dwarf- 

 ness. The plants are almost always short, and spikes 



