38 



SOUTHERN FIELD CROPS 



The kernel of wheat is divided into three principal parts : 

 (1) the germ, or embryo ; (2) the starchy part, or endosperm ; 

 (3) the several outer layers constituting the bran. The germ, 

 which may be located by a tiny scar, constitutes only a very 



small proportion of the 

 grain, occupying only 

 about one thirteenth 

 as much space as the 

 endosperm. The 

 starchy portion, or 

 endosperm, is the part 

 from which flour is 

 made. This is a re- 

 serve supply of food 

 material stored by the 

 maturing plant for the 

 nourishment of the 

 young seedling be- 

 fore the roots of the 

 latter are able to fur- 

 nish a full supply of 

 plant-food. The bran 

 consists of several 

 coats, the outer of 

 which corresponds 

 botanically to the pod 

 that covers a pea or 

 bean. 



Wheat grains are of 

 such size that usually 

 from 500,000 to 1 ,000,- 

 FIG. 16. A GOOD SAMPLE OF WHEAT. 000 are contained in a 



bushel, though the 



number is occasionally below and sometimes above these limits. 

 The legal weight of a bushel of wheat is 60 pounds, but a measured 

 bushel often weighs several pounds less, and sometimes a few 

 pounds more than the standard. 



