PART V. OUR LEADING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS. 



THE CORN OF THE WORLD. 



The term " corn " is applied in agriculture to the seed of the cereal 

 plants. The word is often understood locally to mean that kind of 

 cereal which is the leading crop of a country, and it may be wheat, 

 barley, oats, maize (Indian corn), rye, millet, or even rice. It is 

 Avritten in Genesis : "And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph to 

 buy corn; because the famine was sore in the land," The grain men- 

 tioned in this quotation was probably wheat. Again, in Roman 

 history we read of a great popular uprising because bread was 

 scarce, and the Gracchi became great tribunes of the people because 

 they advocated more favorable corn laws. The grain referred to 

 v/as wheat. Rice is corn in China and Japan, rye in northern Eu- 

 rope, oats in Scotland, and wheat in England. Ruth gleaned ears 

 of corn in the barley fields of Boaz, while in Pharaoh's wonderful 

 dream the seven good ears of corn that devoured the seven thin and 

 blasted ones were probably ears of wheat. In America an ear of 

 corn means an ear of maize, or Indian corn, our national grain. 



It was natural that the cereals should become the source of all our 

 bread. They may be easily preserved, while tubers and bread fruits 

 soon decay. Wheat, barley, oats, Indian corn, millet, and rye, if 

 properly cared for, remain unhurt by cold climate, warm climate, 

 dry climate, or damp climate. Hence their great value to the world. 



THE ORIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION OF WHEAT. 



It is impossible to ascertain definitely the geographical origin of 

 wheat. It seems to have been a food for man since the beginning of 

 history and to have developed as man has developed. Evidence 

 points to the Valley of Mesopotamia, the cradle of civilization, as the 

 birthplace of wheat, and from this center it is supposed to have 

 spread to Phoenicia and to Egypt. The Chinese considered it a gift 

 from heaven, and the Egyptians attributed its discovery to Isis. The 

 most ancient languages mention it; it is found among the relics of 

 the ancient Swiss lake dwellers; it was cultivated in China 3,000 

 years ago, and it was a chief crop among the ancient Hebrews. 



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