CHAPTER VI. 



WHEAT. (Triticum.) 



152. There are three kinds of grain on winch mankind prin 

 cipally feed, (a,) Wheat, (b,) Rice, (c,) Indian Corn or Maize. 

 Of these, Wheat is chiefly confined to the colder regions of the 

 world ; and, in the United States, is second in importance to 

 Maize. It belongs to the botanical family of Grasses. It is not 

 found in a wild state, and the country in which it originated is 

 unknown. 



Wheat has lately been produced by the continued cultivation of a plant 

 \nld on the shores of the Mediterranean, called JEgilops. This is no 

 more extraordinary than the origin of most of our garden vegetables. 



Wheat grows in a great variety of climates. In Europe, the 

 polar limits are stated to be as follows : 



The iso-thermal curve of 57 2 , which appears to be the 

 minimum temperature requisite for the cultivation of wheat 

 passes, in North America, through the uninhabited regions of 

 the Hudson s Bay country. At Cumberland House, lat. 54 

 N., long. 102 20 West, this grain is successfully raised. The 



