18 



SPECIES AND VARIETIES. 



Spelt wheat, or T. spelta, is supposed to be the 

 triticum of the Romans, and the zea of the Greeks. 

 It appears to be a distinct species, more hardy than 

 common wheat. It continues to be cultivated in the 

 South of Europe, and requires less culture, and it 

 may be raised on coarser soils than our wheat. 

 There are two varieties, the bearded and beardless. 

 The latteris larger, but has ftw grains, part of the flowers proving 

 barren. It is sown in spring and is strong, the stems being nearly 

 solid ; the flour is dry. 



One seeded wheat, " or St. Peter's corn/ 5 is another vari- 

 ety, the smallest in stem and leaves of any ; the spike con- 

 tains but one row of grains. It- is mostly raised in parts of 

 Switzerland, and is better for gruel than for bread. The ear 

 is four sided and very regular. 



The seven eared wheat is raised in the most warm 

 parts of the world and is the kind formerly raised in 

 Egypt and Syria ; it is often mentioned in the Bible by 

 the name of corn. Its stem is filled with pith and is 

 thereby able to sustain the weight of the ears. 



The mode of propagating wheat is in two ways ; the most ancient as 

 well as the most common is to scatter the seed with the hand, or broad 

 cast, the other is to deposite it in holes formed in straight furrows, at 

 regular intervals, which is called drilling. Various methods have been 

 invented, or suggested, for sowing, but the first is the common mode 

 here. The mode of germination has been elsewhere explained, but 

 it is not unworthy of remark that it is wonderful how the little germ 

 of wheat produces, not only a plant, but one plant after another, so 

 that in a few seasons the minute germ affords food for a whole nation 

 of people. The number of stalks from each seed depends on local 

 causes. The multiplication of these is called tillering. They spring 

 from the young sprouts, but are often attacked at the roots by the in- 

 sect musea pumilionis which deposits its eggs in the core of the plu- 

 mule. But their injury is more than repaid by the plant sending out, 

 in consequence, new shoots from the knots, which fix it more firmly 

 and produce many stems and ears, instead of but one. A plant of 

 barley has been known to produce 249 stalks and 18.000 grains, and 

 in another case 100 ears, each with from sixty to seventy grains. 



The produce of wheat varies with the soil, season and culture. An 



