Naturalisation in Extra- Tropical Countries. 491 



Triticum vulgrare, Villars.* 



The Wheat. Indigenous to the Euphrates-regions, according to 

 A. de Candolle. Traced back more than 5,000 years as an Egyptian 

 and Chinese culture-plant ; indeed the earliest lacustrine people in 

 Switzerland reared wheat in the stone-age [Heer], Excellent 

 wheat was grown in Britain prior to the Christian era [Carruthers]. 

 Among the utilitarian plants of the world Wheat takes the very 

 first position through the widest area. In many intra-tropical 

 countries, not too wet, wheat and barley can be grown as winter- 

 crop. At Irkutzk some varieties of wheat ripen still during the 

 short but warm summer, though the soil three feet below the sur- 

 face remains permanently frozen [Dr. Z. Oppenheimer]. The 

 lion. J. L. Dow introduced into Australia a Mexican variety of 

 Wheat, which matures six weeks earlier than the ordinary sorts. 

 In Japan some kind of wheat is of extraordinary precocity [Lar- 

 tigne], and it is greatly recommended there as a forage-plant. 

 The Punjab- Wheat with a few other varieties is usually rust-proof. 

 The kinds of Rust-fungs, attacking Wheat, are Puccinia graminis 

 (Persoon), P. clandestina (Desrnazieres) or P. straminis (Fuckel) 

 and P. coronata (Persoon). This is not the place, to enter into 

 details about a plant universally known, unless we may allude to 

 the much overlooked fact, that a light beer can be brewed from 

 wheat ; it may therefore suffice merely to mention, that three 

 primary varieties must be distinguished among the very numerous 

 sorts of cultivated wheat : 1. Far. muticum (T. hybermim, L.), the 

 Winter- Wheat or Unbearded Wheat ; 2. Far. aristatum (T. assti- 

 vum, L.), the Summer-Wheat or Bearded Wheat ; 3. Far. adheerens 

 (T. Spelta, L.), Wheat with fragile axis and adherent grain. 

 Metzger enumerates systematically as distinct kinds of cultivated 

 wheat : 



T. vulgare, Villars, which includes among other varieties the 

 ordinary Spring- Wheat, the Fox-Wheat and the Kentish 

 Wheat. It comprises also the best Italian sorts for plaiting 

 straw-bonnets and straw-hats, for which only the upper part 

 of the stem is used, collected before the ripening of the 

 grain, and bleached through exposure to the sun while kept 

 moistened. 



T. turgidum, Linne, comprising some varieties of White and 

 Red Wheat, also the Clock-Wheat, the Revet- Wheat and the 

 Poulard- Wheat. The straw of the " Poulard " variety is 

 unusually solid. 



T. durum, Desfontaines, which contains some sorts of the Bearded 

 Wheat. 



T. Polonicum, Linne, the Polish Wheat, some kinds of which are 

 well adapted for peeled Wheat. 



T. Spelta, Linne, the Spelt-Corn or Dinkel- Wheat, a kind not 

 readily subject to disease, succeeding on soil of very limited 

 fertility, not easily attacked by birds, furnishing a flour of 



