CHAPTER II 



WHEAT — Tkiticum sativum 



Wheat belongs to the grass family, and is thus closely 

 related to all the other cereal grains and to the forage 

 grasses. All the various wheats are included in the genus 

 Triticum, which term thus forms the first word in the bo- 

 tanical name of wheat. All kinds of wheat are annuals. 



Wheat is chiefly used for the manufacture of flour. 

 From the wheat grain are also made breakfast foods, mac- 

 aroni, and other articles for human nourishment. When 

 the price of wheat is low, the grain is sometimes fed to all 

 classes of live-stock. It is especially prized as a food for 

 poultry. 



The wheat plant affords valuable winter pastvirage, and 

 when cut before ripening, it makes hay of good quality. 

 For use as hay a variety having no beards is, of course, 

 preferable. In the southern parts of the Gulf States, 

 wheat is more valued for forage than for grain. 



Structure and Composition 



36. Roots. — The wheat has fibrous roots, and in this 

 respect it is entirely unlike such plants as the legumes, cow- 

 peas, clovers and cotton, which have tap-roots. The roots 

 of wheat do not extend so widely as do those of corn and 

 cotton. The roots originate at the crown, which is usually 



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