WHEAT 101 



was threshed with a flail or tramped out by animals. 

 We now have threshing machines or separators run by 

 engines which thresh many thousands of bushels in a 

 day. On very large farms a combined reaper and 

 thresher is used, that cuts from twenty to forty acres 

 of grain a day and at the same time threshes and sacks 

 it ready for market. 



Einkorn, spelt, and emmer are types of wheat which 

 are like oats, in that the hull adheres to the grain, while 

 in common wheat the grain is free from the husks which 

 held the grain before threshing. With the exception 

 of emmer, these grains do not promise to become very 

 important in American agriculture. 



Emmer is not subject to some of the plant diseases 

 that affect other kinds of wheat. It is also a drought- 

 resistant crop and therefore grows better in dry regions 

 than other forms of wheat. For this reason it is becom- 

 ing an important crop in dry farming. 



Emmer is planted and grown like wheat. It is 

 threshed in the same way, except that the kernels are 

 not separated from the hulls. The grains are rich in 

 minerals, protein, and starch ; and in parts of the 

 world, emmer is an important food for man, being used 

 as a breakfast food. In the time of the Romans it 

 was ground into flour for bread. It is a valuable food 

 for stock. The hull on the grain has some value in 

 stock feeding ; it makes the animal chew the grain to 

 get the flavor of the kernel, and thus helps digestion. 



