tion. The ligule is a thin, transparent tissue, clasping the View - 

 stem where the blade and the sheath join, and the aiiricle is a 

 fine, hairy projection located at the base of the blade. The 

 first leaves, which come from the crown, are set close together, 

 being produced from the nodes before the internodes have 

 lengthened. As the stem or stems grow up the leaves become 

 larger and are distributed at intervals, marking the length of 

 the internodes. 6 



THE HEAD OR SPIKE. 



The head of wheat consists of the rachis, which is a notched 

 extension of the stem, and the spikelets arranged upon it. The 7 



notches or angles correspond to the nodes and the short sec- 

 tions separating the notches to the internodes. When the 8 

 internodes of the rachis are short the heads are compact or 

 crowded, and when they are long the heads are said to be open. 

 The spikelets are the flower clusters, which ultimately produce 

 the grain. Their number ranges from 8 to 10 on each side 9 



of the rachis in some varieties, and from 10 to 16 in others. 

 Each spikelet, as a rule, has five flowers, but the upper or odd 

 one is rarely fertile. 



THE FLOWER OR BLOSSOM. 



The flower or blossom consists of the reproductive organs, 10 

 namely, the ovary, the pistil, and the stamens. The ovary is 

 the rudimentary grain of wheat and with the pistil constitutes 

 the female portion of the blossom, while the stamens represent 

 the male element. The pistil branches into two feathery 

 styles and is borne on the ovary, while the stamens, of which 

 there are three, have their filaments inserted around the base 

 of the ovary and extend around and above it so that the 

 anthers are placed around the pistil. 



THE GRAIN. 



The kernel of wheat is the fruit of the plant. Its outer 

 covering is made up of two layers, the outer the epiderm or 

 pericarp, and the inner the endocarp. Beneath these layers is 

 the testa or seed covering, and all three of these coverings 

 go to make up the bran in milling and constitute about 5 per 

 cent of the entire grain. Immediately under the testa, or 

 seed covering, is a layer of cells rich in gluten, which, in mill- 

 ing, is partly removed with the bran and contributes largely 

 to the feeding value of this product. The interior portion 

 of the grain surrounded by the gluten cells, called the endo- 

 sperm, is composed mostly of starch but contains also some 

 proteid substances. The endosperm, which constitutes about 

 75 per cent of the kernel, is the source of flour. The germ. 



