tfOS MI.UH.V- -. :( j \M i.\ K i; DIAGRAM IT. 



There is only one for ua-!i ll>\\er, and 'orii is bkreshtfd in 

 to free it from the chaff which envelopes it. 



Wheat is sown either at the beginning of winter or at the be- 

 ginning of spring. When sown in antuinn, it aprouts and resists 

 the cold, but does not grow through the winter, and only begins 

 to grow again on the return of warm weather. Each grain of 

 wheat produces sometimes more or sometimes fewer stalks, and 

 consequently ears. After the plant has flowered, and the corn 

 has acquired its full growth, the -stalk and ear begin to turn 

 yellow, or in other words, to die. The wheat is then reaped, 

 and afterwards threshed to separate the corn from the chaff. 



There are many different varieties of wheat suitable for dif- 

 ferent soils and situations. Some are much more hardy than 

 others. The less hardy kinds yield a floury grain which can be 

 easily reduced to powder, and are the best for bread making. 

 The hardy kinds are smaller, more horny, and are more easily 

 broken than ground; they yield ti Hour which makes very nutri- 

 tious bread, but not of a fine colour ; it is well adapted for pastry. 



In order to make bread, the wheat is put into a mill, where it 

 passes between two millstones, one of which revolves, which 

 grind it, but the flour in this condition is not yet sufficiently 

 prepared ; it is mixed with the bran which proceeds from the 

 outer sltin of the corn. This is removed by passing the flour 

 through a very fine sieve. Wheat, thus converted into flour, 

 will keep for a long time in a dry place. When it is required 

 for use, it is kneaded with water and salt, but if cooked thus, it 

 yields a heavy compact dough which is not fit to eat. It is neces- 

 sary for the bread to rise when it bakes, and we must therefore add 

 to it a little yeast, a microscopic fungus which becomes developed 

 in the course of the fermentation of beer, and which is found in 

 the form of a whitish scum in the vats where beer is' made. 

 When this is done the dough will rise in baking. 



Bread is one of the best foods known, and is the more nourish- 

 ing in an inverse proportion to its whiteness, but it is by no 

 means indispensable to life ; and potatoes, beans, rice, or meat 

 can be substituted. Bread is the principal article of food in 

 some countries, while the inhabitants of others eat little or none, 



