HEREDITY. 121 



the contemplation is somewhat illusory ; progeny is a 

 tangle between sire and dam, and the intricate re- 

 lations of ancestry. A long nose in a father and a 

 short nose in a mother do not necessarily impart a 

 medium nose to offspring; nor does a brittle temper 

 in a mother with one slow of anger in a father to a 

 certainty insure a model spirit in a child, but there 

 will be a combination quite puzzling to the analytical 

 observer. In some instances an advantage is gained, 

 and in others a depreciation is the result. It has been 

 asserted as a scientific presumption, that the child fol- 

 lows the father physically and the mother mentally, 

 but there is no substantial ground for the asseveration. 

 Among stock breeders it is well known that the dam 

 and sire must be of goodly heritage if line descendants 

 be sought ; an excellent pedigree on one side is not 

 sufficient. And then in each new generation there will 

 be apparent some divergence from parental stock. 



The farmer who sows wheat expects the same 

 kind of grain, and not oats, barley or "cheat." The 

 latter appears here and there almost every year a 

 barren spike showing itself among well tilled heads ; 

 but when the season is unpropitious, and the environ- 

 ment unfavorable, the sterile spikes become more nu- 

 merous, and in rare instances they may be in the ma- 

 jority. The husbandman will remark that there is 

 much " cheat" in the fields this year. 



It has been demonstated, I believe, that wheat, 

 oats and barley were once grasses ; but through selec- 

 tion and cultivation, have been developed into a 

 high order of cereals wheat becoming the most valu- 

 able of all, the richest in starch granules, in bread- 

 making qualities. The botanist recognizes several 

 kinds of wheat, though all appear much alike. The 



