CULTURE OF RYE. 



169 



or the straw. Its characters as a variety are so little 



fixed that it may be sown at almost any season of the 



year, with the hope of getting a crop, in 



the proper season for it, either of grain 



or green fodder. It is far less sensitive 



to the cold of winter than wheat, while 



its vegetation is more rapid, so that in 



high northern latitudes it is often a 



more important crop. 



The cultivation of rye does not essen- 

 tially differ from the other grains. It is 

 usually sown broadcast on a well-culti- 

 vated soil, but will succeed on lighter 

 soils than wheat, and does not require 

 so much moisture as either wheat or 

 barley. Wheat, in particular, must have 

 a considerable mixture of clay, or what 

 would be called a clay loam, or a clay 

 subsoil, to arrive at its full perfection as 

 a remunerative crop. Barley needs con- 

 siderable moisture in the soil, or in fre- 

 quent rains. But rye requires less 

 moisture than either, and will do very 

 well on light, sandy loams, and in a com- 

 paratively dry season. 



The grain or kernel of rye is smaller 

 in size than that of wheat. It tillers 

 much less in growing, and its straw, or 

 stem, when ripe, is very rich in silica ; 

 more so than that of wheat, while it con- Fig. 139. Kye. 

 tains a larger percentage of potash and phosphoric 

 acid than the latter. Manures containing a large 

 amount of phosphates and silicates of potash would 

 seem, therefore, to be highly important for rye, as, 

 indeed, they are for all the cereals. 

 15 



