HORDED 



239 



or smooth wheats. In all the 

 true wheats, the grain is free 

 from the lemma and palea 

 (the chaff). 



264. Spelt and emmer are 

 considered by some as varie- 

 ties of wheat, by others as 

 distinct species, the first being 

 T. spelta, the second T. dicoc- 

 cum (Fig. 59). They differ 

 from wheat in having an artic- 

 ulated rachis, and grains per- 

 manently inclosed in the 

 glumes and lemmas. When 

 threshed, the spike breaks up 

 into the internodes of the 

 rachis, each with a spikelet 

 attached. In wheat, the 

 threshing process removes the 

 grains from the spikelets and 

 leaves the rachis entire. The 

 head or spike of emmer is 

 compact, resembling that of 

 bearded wheat. The spike of 

 spelt is more slender and loose. 



Emmer has been intro- 

 duced into cultivation in recent years as a dry-land pro- 

 duct in the Great Plains region, the grain being used in 

 the same manner as barley for feeding stock. The statistics 

 for this crop are given in the census report under ' 'emmer 

 and spelt." Since the amount of spelt cultivated is 

 insignificant, the figures apply mostly to emmer. The 

 production of this crop is given in Table XI (Par. 9). 



FIG. 59. Triticum dicoccum. In- 

 florescence (head), Xj^, spikelet 

 with a disarticulated joint of the 

 rachis, X2. 



