4 6 



A STUDY OF WHEAT. 



Austrian, Von Welsbach, invented a process by which the fibers 

 of the stalk, leaves and husks could be converted into paper. 

 The juice of the stalk, before the grain ripens, has been con- 

 verted into sugar and syrup, although it cannot compete with 

 sorghum ; so, indirectly, alcohol and whisky are produced from 

 the plant. The oil is in such large quantities that it has been 

 utilized for illuminating purposes. It is so very expensive ex- 



Fig. 7. Cross Section of the Coats of Bean. Drawn with the 

 Camera Lucida. Magnified 400 Diameters. 



tracting the oil, that it probably never will have general use 

 as an illuminator. The leaves are used for upholstering pur- 

 poses, husk mattresses being quite common. The more deli- 

 cate leaves of corn are plaited into fancy articles, and we 

 have from these braids, matting, slippers, hats, horse-collars, etc. 

 Indian corn is met with, in the state of a coarse flour, in 



