CHAPTER II 

 WHEAT* 



As source of world's food supply. Wheat bread would 

 sustain life better than any other one article of food in* the 

 world. The average amount of Avheat eaten by each person 

 in the United States is five bushels a year. This is equiva- 

 lent to a barrel of flour, or- about two hundred and 

 fifty loaves of bread. Fortunately, wheat is grown in almost 

 every part of the temperate zones. 



Varieties. Wheat, the source of the world's most impor- 

 tant food, is a grass. Man gets much of his food from the 

 grasses of the field. There are eight principal species of cul- 

 tivated wheat : einkorn, spelt, emmer, durum, poulard, Polish, 

 club, and common wheat. There are two hundred and forty- 

 five leading varieties of wheat. W T heat is classified into hard 

 and soft varieties, depending upon the relative degree of 

 hardness of the ripe grain; and into spring and winter 

 wheats according to whether they will mature when sown in 

 the spring or in the autumn preceding harvest. 



In the selection of varieties, the most important considera- 

 tions are winter hardiness, stiffness of straw, high yielding 

 and disease resisting powers, and good milling qualities. 

 Among the best yielding varieties recommended for gen- 

 eral use in the North Central States are Rudy, Farmer's 



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