ENEMIES OF THE WHEAT CROP. 171 



what might otherwise appear unaccountable in the 

 Scripture narrative of Pharaoh's dream, where both the 

 good and bad wheat are said to have borne seven ears 

 on one stalk. 



Spelt-wheat, supposed to have been the triticum of 

 the Komans, and the zea of the Greeks, is extensively 

 grown in the south of Europe, and also in the north of 

 Africa. It has been cultivated in Scotland six hundred 

 feet above the level of the sea ; and has the advantage 

 of growing upon a much coarser soil than other wheat, 

 and also of requiring less culture. But the bread made 

 from it is of a dry quality, and the wheat has chiefly 

 become celebrated in commerce from the excellent starch 

 and flour made from it, especially at Nuremberg and 

 Frankfort. This wheat is said to be better adapted 

 for culture in Australia than any of the more delicate 

 kinds. 



Single grained wheat, or St. Peter's corn, is a curious 

 species, chiefly cultivated in the mountains of Switzer- 

 land, and other elevated places. It is fitter for being 

 boiled into gruel than made into bread, and the ear is 

 so regular as to have the appearance of being carved in 

 ivory. Polish wheat was at one 'time partially culti- 

 vated in England, but does not appear to merit general 

 notice. 



It is a cause of much anxiety to the farmer that the 

 wheat crop is more liable to be affected by casualties 

 than any other crop whatever. Every part of the plant 

 is subject to the attacks of insects, or to the growth of 

 some destructive fungus. Scarcely is the grain com- 

 mitted to the earth, and vegetation commenced, ere the 

 caterpillar of the ivheat-dart-moth commences its ravages, 

 feeding on the young root in Autumn, and never appear- 

 ing above ground except in the night. On the arrival 

 of Spring another enemy appears in the ii'/wat-stem-fly, 

 which deposits its eggs in the veiy core of the young 

 plant, so that the primary shoot affords food to the 

 larvee, and is completely destroyed. Were it not for 



