CHAPTER XLII 



CULTIVATED GRAINS 



438. Wheat, which was probably the cereal first culti- 

 vated by the early civilization living in the countries bor- 

 dering on the Red and the Mediterranean Seas, has spread 

 throughout the world. Rice and wheat were the grains of 

 the early Eastern civilization. Corn was the great food 

 plant of the natives of Central and North America. Thus 

 we see how it has happened that rice, wheat, and corn are 

 the great grain crops of the world. 



439. The Word Corn was originally applied to any 

 hard edible seed, grain, or kernel. In Biblical language, 

 just as to-day to an Englishman, "ears of corn" means 

 " heads of wheat." In Northern Europe "a cornfield" 

 refers to a field of rye, and in Scotland, to oats. In other 

 countries our corn is 



"Maize or Indian 

 Corn," as it was first 

 called by the early 

 American explorers. 

 In the same way 

 "Kaffir Corn" and 

 "Milo Maize," and 

 other grain plants 

 have been named by 

 the Old World to 



di^tin0-lli<;h tVlPrn Fig - 194> Corn cut to save stover. The shocks 



are placed wide apart to faciltate early seed- 



from their staple mg to wheat. 



Courtesy Prof. Hartley, United States 

 grain. Department of Agriculture. 



(305) 



