148 WHEAT. 



greater, and except having short beards at tiic 

 apex, it is in other respects bald. It is said to re- 

 sist the power of frost, and to be proof against 

 winter kiUing. 



Is this wheat indigenous, or was it imported 

 and accidentally conveyed to the places where it 

 is found ? 



If the latter, why is not wheat found growing 

 wild in more cultivated parts of the country ? I 

 am persuaded that it is an indigenous plant ; and 

 if so, it may be considered one of the greatest dis- 

 coveries of the age. Tt is the vegetable destined 

 by nature for this climate, and it casts light upon 

 the natural history of the most important of the 

 cerealia which has hitherto been enveloped in ob- 

 scurity. 



Wheat grows in the old world from Egypt to 

 Siberia, upwards of 30 degrees of latitude. Pen- 

 nant says that Vv'heat will ripen as high as latitude 

 62 north, but so uncertain is the crop throughout 

 Sweden, that it is called the seed of repentance. 

 A species of wheat which is called Siberian, and 

 which has been found growing wild in that coun- 

 try, ripens in a latitude still more north than that 

 laid down by Pennant. Kaimes observes, that — 

 " Writers upon Natural History have been solici- 

 tous to discover the original climate of wheat, rice, 

 barley, &c. (which must; from the creation, have 



