746 



PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. 



Part III. 



Chap. II. 

 Of the Culture of the Cereal Grasses. 



4596. The com crops cultivated in Britain are, wheat, rye, barley, and oats. 

 Other culmiferous plants, as the maize, millet, and rice, have been tried with partial 

 success in warm districts, but they have no chance whatever of ever becoming general 

 in our climate. 



4597. On the culture of culmiferous plants, a few general remarks may be of use to the 

 young farmer. Culmiferous plants, like most others, have two sets of roots. The first ori- 

 ginate with the germination of the grain, and are always under the soil, and are called 

 the seminal roots ; the second spring from the first joint which is formed above the sur- 

 face of the soil, and from that joint strike down into the soil ; these are called the coronal 

 roots. The coronal roots appear chiefly intended for drawing nourishment from the soil ; 

 and, as Professor Martyn has observed, are judiciously placed for this purpose, the richest 

 part of all soils being on or near the surface. These fibres are of larger diameter, more 

 succulent, and never so long as the seminal or tap-root. From these facts as to the 

 roots of culmiferous plants, some important hints may be derived as to their culture. 

 The use of stirring the surface in spring to facilitate the entrance of the coronal roots, is 

 obvious ; the immediate effect of a top-dressing is also apparent, and also that manures 

 may be ploughed in too deep to give the full amount of their beneficial effects to corn 

 crops or grasses. Sagret, a scientific French agriculturist, proved experimentally, that 

 where any of the grains or grasses are etiolated immediately after germination, by 

 growing too rapidly, or being sown too thick, or in too warm a season, the first joint 

 from which the coronal or nourishing roots spring, is raised above the ground, and in 

 consequence either throws out no roots at all, or so ^ew, as to nourish it imperfectly, in 

 which case it either dies before it comes into flower, or before the seed is matured. 

 {Mem, de la Soc Jg. de Seine, tom. ii.) 



4598. The nutritive products of the plants to be treated of in this section, are thus 

 given by Sir H. Davy. 



Sect. I. Wheat. Triticum, L. Triandria digynia, L. and GraminecB, J. Fro- 

 ment, Fr. ; Weitzen, Ger. ; and Grano, Ital. 



4599. Wheat is by far the most important of the cereal grasses, the flour made from its 

 grains or seeds, from the quantity of gluten it contains, making the best bread in the 

 world. A greater proportion of mankind are nourished by rice than by wheat, but 

 there is no grain which comes near this species in its qualities for bread-making. Rice 

 and maize are comparatively unfit for it, and oats, barley, and rye but imperfectly so. 

 Rye, however, comes nearer to wheat in its bread-making qualities, than any other grain. 



4600. Of what country wheat is a native, is totally unknown ; it has been supposed 

 of Asia and Africa, and unquestionably it is more likely to belong to these parts of the 

 world than any other; but all that can be advanced on this subject is conjecture. 

 Wheat, with the exception as it is said of some parts of the southern coast of Africa, is 

 cultivated in every part of the temperate and torrid zones, and in some places as high 

 as 2000 feet above the level of the sea. It has been cultivated from time immemorial in 

 Britain, but in few places at a greater elevation than 600 feet. Of course the elevation 

 to which any plant can be cultivated, always depends on the latitude of the situation. 



4601. Species and varieties, ifg. 553.) Botanists reckon seven species of triticum, 

 which are or may be cultivated for their grains, besides many varieties and subvarieties 

 of those in common culture. The species or subspecies are, 



1. Triticum aestivum. Summer wheat or spring wheat (o). 



2. hybernum, Lammas wheat (6). 



3. compositum, Egyptian wheat (). 



4. turgidum, Turgid wheat (<i). 



5. Triticum polonicum, Polish wheat (e). 



6. spelta. Spelt wheat (/). 



7. monococcum, One-grained wheat {g). 



