LUTHER BURBANK 



food for man himself. But important as this new 

 cereal is, it by no means takes the place of the 

 others. Wheat and rye in particular stand un- 

 challenged as the producers of the chief vegetable 

 foods of mankind throughout the civilized world. 

 Oats constitute the most highly prized food for 

 man's chief helper, the horse; and barley is raised 

 in enormous quantities for purposes of fermenta- 

 tion to produce beverages that retain their popu- 

 larity generation after generation, whatever may 

 be said as to their wholesomeness. 



The relatively close relationship of these four 

 grasses is obvious to the most casual observer. 

 Wheat, rye, and barley in particular are so similar 

 that only the practiced eye can distinguish be- 

 tween them with certainty when growing in the 

 field. They are closely related in the eye of the 

 botanist as well, and what may be said of one of 

 them with regard to possibilities of development 

 applies, with minor modifications, to them all. 



They are plants that, having been for ages 

 under cultivation, have developed many varieties. 



But, on the other hand, the varieties that asume 

 commercial importance are relatively fixed, owing 

 to the fact that they have always been grown in 

 mass, thus giving no great opportunity for varia- 

 tion, and no necessity for cross-fertilization. These 

 are the good and sufficient reasons why they get 



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