CHAPTER VII 

 RYE 



274. Origin. Rye has been cultivated only in com- 

 paratively recent times, for it was not known among the 

 Greeks and Romans. It probably grew originally in western 

 Asia and southeastern Europe, as several species of wild rye, 

 any one of which may be the parent of the cultivated type, 

 are still found there. 



275. Description. Rye is quite closely related to wheat, 

 and its manner of growth is much the same. The straw is 

 longer and more wiry, and the heads are more slender and 

 are always bearded. Unhke wheat and the other small 

 grains, rye cross-fertilizes freely, which fact is probably 

 the reason why so few distinct varieties have been developed. 

 It is a comparatively easy matter to maintain a pure stock 

 of wheat, oats, or barley and so to develop in time a new vari- 

 ety from any particularly good plant. There is little danger 

 of mixing the varieties of these grains if proper care is used 

 in sowing, harvesting, and threshing. Rye, however, may 

 become mixed in the field by pollen carried from other plants 

 by the wind or by insects, and hence it is quite difficult to 

 build up a pure strain. Only a few varieties are recognized 

 even by seedsmen, and farmers ordinarily grow simply ''win- 

 ter lye" or "spring rye." Most of the rye grown in this 

 country is sown in the fall, for winter rye is our hardiest win- 

 ter grain and there are few localities where it does not succeed. 



276. Importance of the Crop. The world production of 

 rye is greater than that of barley, but less than that of wheat, 

 corn, oats or rice. Almost half of the world's crop of 1,747,- 

 000,000 bushels is grown in European Russia, and about 

 one quarter in Germany. In these two countries and in 



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