WHEAT 



103 



service. The stem of the wheat plant in most varieties 

 is hollow, excepting at the node, where it is solid. In 

 some few varieties the stem is partly or entirely filled with 

 pith. The number of pounds of straw required to pro- 

 duce a bushel of grain varies 

 greatly with the variety and 

 with the soil. At the Ohio 

 Station, with 45 varieties, dur- 

 ing a period of 13 years, the 

 weight of straw varied from 92 

 to 132 pounds per bushel of 

 grain, the average being about 

 105 pounds of straw per bushel 

 of grain. When manure or 

 fertilizer was applied at this 

 station, there was a greater 

 proportionate increase in the 

 weight of the straw than in 

 the grain. 



86. The leaves. As in the 

 corn plant, the leaves are ar- 

 ranged alternately, one leaf 

 growing from each node of the 

 stem. While the plant dur- 

 ing its early stage of growth 

 has a leafy appearance, after 

 the internodes have become 

 full length, the leaves appear 

 to be few in number. This is due to the fact that they are 

 then arranged on a lengthened stem. The leaves of wheat 

 are short and narrow as compared with those of the corn 

 plant. They vary in different varieties in length, width, 

 smoothness, and prominence of veins. The leaf sheaths of 



FIG. 32. Variation in number 

 of culms per plant. 



