THE WHEAT CROP. 21 



by using as seed the grain of an earlier district, to acce- 

 lerate the time of his own harvest, which in some seasons 

 and in some places is a matter of considerable importance 

 to him. Thus the light chalk and gravelly soils of Kent 

 furnish a good exchange with the strong alluvial and clay 

 soils of the opposite coast of Essex; and the fen soils of 

 Huntingdon and Lincolnshire exchange seed beneficially 

 with the wolds and the chalk soils of Cambridgeshire, and 

 the green sandstone soils of Bedfordshire; while the strong 

 cold clays of Northumberland and Berwickshire, and the 

 rich alluvial Carse soils of the north, would find the seed 

 corn of the warm, friable soils of the new red sandstone 

 improve the wheat produce of their broad and well-tilled 

 fields. 



A little consideration will clearly show the important 

 relations which exist between the parent seed and its off- 

 spring, the young plant, and why it is desirable that the 

 finest and most perfect seed should be used. All grains 

 or seed contain, besides the germ (A), a certain amount 

 of substance, sufficient to carry out the 

 process of germination as soon as the vital 

 principle has been excited and the action 

 of growth commenced. This action of B 

 growth consists of the simultaneous deve- 

 lopment of the embryo stem, called the 

 "plumule" (B), and of the rootlets (c), 

 these being formed out of the materials 

 stored up in the grain (seed), which gradu- 

 ally diminish as these two organs or 

 necessary parts are increased. When the whole of this 

 store is exhausted, the young plant is then left to its own 

 resources, and has to seek its own food instead of relying 

 on its parent for support; and much of its future growth 

 and productiveness depend upon its condition and strength 

 at this period of its existence. If it has been well fed, and 



