THE 



CULTURE OF FARM CROPS. 



DIVISION I. 

 THE CEREALS OR GRAIN CROPS. 



PART II. 

 THE DISEASES AND PRESERVATION OF WHEAT. 



CHAPTER FIRST. 



THE HABIT OF GROWTH OF THE WHEAT PLANT. 



1. BEFORE proceeding to describe the diseases of wheat, 

 it will be useful to point out the chief peculiarities con- 

 nected with its habit of growth. These are not only in- 

 teresting in themselves, but afford, when investigated, some 

 valuable lessons, useful in farm practice. It will be doing 

 those of our readers a service who have not considered the 

 subject from this point of view, if we go somewhat into 

 details ; and this we cannot better do than by giving a ra- 

 pid resume of an admirable paper by Professor Buckman 

 in the seventeenth volume of the ' Royal Agricultural So- 

 ciety's Journal' 



2. Habits of growth of wheat plants. If we examine a 

 grain of sound wheat, we find that the perisperm or outer 

 husk (a a, fig. 1) covers the embryo, b c; this having at its 

 upper part the plumate 6, from which the axis ascends, 



G 



