THE GRAMINE>K. 



209 



R7. 



Egyptian or many spiked 

 Wheat. 



tlie entire Inilk of the griiins. The gluten con- 

 tained in the two kinds varies in a greater degree, 

 that of winter wlieat being 24, wliile that of 

 spring sown com is only 19, so that the winter 

 variety is more eligible for the purpose of the 

 baker. 



Egyptian or many 

 spiked Wheat (triticum 

 compositumj. This spe- 

 cies of wheat, called also 

 the " corn of abun- 

 dance," is chiefly culti- 

 vated in Egypt and some 

 parts of Italy. It is 

 supposed to be of Afri- 

 can origin, and in its 

 qualities and habits re- 

 sembles the spring 

 wheat, above described, 

 more than any other. 

 The stem or rachis of 

 this species is branched, 

 and bears several ears 

 or spikelets. The ear 

 is bearded, and the grains are thinner than those 

 of winter wheat. This kind will endure the 

 extremes of moisture, as well as a higli tem- 

 perature, without injury, so that it is peculiarly 

 adapted to the climate of the countries where it 

 is chiefly raised. 



Spelt Wheat (triticum spelia). This is con- 

 jectured to have been the species of wheat used 

 by the Romans, and the zea of the Greeks, al- 

 though this latter name has been given to maize, 

 a grain with which the ancients were totally 

 unacquainted. This variety is still cultivated 

 on the continent, and to a considerable extent in 

 the south of Europe. A coarse soil will produce 

 it, and it requires less culture and attention than 

 the finer qualities of wheat. In many parts of 

 Germany, in Switzerland, in the south of France, 

 in the north of Africa, and at the Cape of Good 

 Hope, spelt is raised in considerable abundance. 

 It is also common in Spain, and is given to 

 horses instead of barley, when that grain hap- 

 pens to be scarce. It is said, too, that this va- 

 riety of wheat is well suited to the climate and 

 soil of Australia. There are two varieties of 

 spelt, one with awns, and the other quite bare. 

 The spike of this latter variety is scantily sup- 

 plied with grains, which have a very slight en- 

 velope of chaff, the individual grains, however, 

 are large and plump. It is almost universally a 

 spring sown crop, and grows luxuriantly, with 

 a thick nearly solid culm. The bread made 

 from it is of a dry quality. 



One Seeded TVheat C triticum monococcum). 

 This variety goes under the name of St Peter's 

 com. It is a very diminutive plant, and the 

 spike contains only a single row of gTains. It is 

 cultivated in the more Alpine parts of Switzer- 



One Seeded WTienf. 



land, and contains less gluten than 

 ihe common sorts ; on this ac- 

 count it is less adapted for the 

 manufacture of bread, and is used 

 in soups and gruels. The four- 

 sided form of the ripe ear is so 

 regular, that it has the appear- 

 ance of being carved out of ivory. 

 The stem, from its hardness and 

 tenatiity, is well adapted for 

 thatching, for which purpose it is 

 generally used. Several stalks 

 grow up from one seed of wheat 

 deposited in the soil, and the num- 

 ber varies much according to the 

 manner of cultivation and other 

 accidental circumstances. The 

 power of renewing and multiply- 

 ing the stems possessed by the 

 grain-bearing plants, is called tillering by agricul- 

 turists. In its progress the stalks do not rise 

 immediately from the germ, but are thrown out 

 from different points of the infant sprouts while 

 they are yet in contact with the moist soil. The 

 increase of plants by this means is often most as- 

 tonishing, and it is an admirable provision to 

 repair and counteract the various casualties to 

 which these plants are liable in the earlier stages 

 of their progress. Among these casualties not 

 the least common is that of the. depredations of 

 the wheat fly ( musca pumilionis ) . This insect 

 is in the habit of depositing its eggs in the very 

 centre of the young plant, and when these are 

 hatched into larvse, the primary shoot is by these 

 worms instantly devoured. Did the plant pos- 

 sess within itself no means of repairing this in- 

 jury, the whole previous labour of the husband- 

 man would in this case have been in vain. But 

 this destruction occurring in the spring of the 

 year, when the vegetative power of the plant is 

 in the greatest activity, an effort is produced 

 somewhat analogous to that of heading down a 

 fruit tree, shoots immediately spring up from the 

 divided part, the plant becomes more firmly 

 rooted, and produces probably a dozen stems and 

 ears, where, but for the temporary mischief, it 

 might have sent forth only one. 



Several extraordinary facts have been recorded 

 in connection with the inherent power of mul- 

 tiplication possessed by these vegetables. Among 

 others, Kenelm Digby asserted, in 1660, that 

 " there was in the possession of the Fathers of 

 the Christian doctrine at Paris a plant of barley, 

 which they at that time kept as a curiosity, and 

 which consisted of two hundred and forty-nine 

 stalks springing from one root or grain, and in 

 which they counted above eighteen thousand 

 grains or seeds of barley." In the PhOosophical . 

 Transactions it is recorded, that Mr C. Miller of 

 Cambridge, the son of the eminent horticulturist, 

 sowed, on the 2nd of June, a few grains of com- 



