CHAPTER X 

 WHEAT 



Wheat is probably the oldest known cereal. The oldest 

 books of which we have any knowledge speak of wheat, and 

 specimens have been found in places which indicate that 

 wheat was known before our oldest books were written. 

 Without doubt wheat is a native of that part of the Old 

 World where civilization first began. There are several 

 mythological stories of its origin, one of which places its ori- 

 gin in Sicily, whence it was distributed to Greece, Egypt 

 and China. The earliest descriptions and the oldest speci- 

 mens seem to show that wheat has had for centuries the same 

 appearance that it now has. Wheat was brought to America 

 by the earliest explorers and settlers. 



Wheat grows successfully through a very wide range of 

 latitude. In North America it will grow as far north as 60 

 degrees, and good crops can be raised in Cuba. In the Old 

 World, good crops are raised in Egypt and Algeria, and as far 

 north as 64 degrees in Norway. Extreme heat does not seem 

 to be injurious unless it is accompanied by too much dryness 

 or too much moisture. However, there is a great deal of 

 difference in the quality of wheat under these ranges of tem- 

 perature. That grown in the colder climates has a harder 

 grain than that grown in warmer regions. The nitrogenous 

 element in wheat is called gluten. When wheat is chewed a 



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