THE STAFF OF LIFE 



ing in this ingredient; and for that reason flour 

 made from them, rich though it be in starch, is not 

 at all the kind of flour for bread. 

 This will explain to you the su- 

 periority of wheat over all other 

 farinaceous grains. 



"Wheat, the only cereal that 

 can give us white bread, that su- 

 perior bread which nevertheless 

 is not always to your taste un- 

 less spread with a little butter, 

 does not grow in all countries. 

 Open your atlas and run over 

 with your finger the countries bor- 

 dering on the Mediterranean; 

 your travels will embrace the 

 principal regions where wheat flourishes. Farther 

 north it is too cold for the successful culture of the 

 precious cereal ; farther south it is too warm. 



"But that is not all. In the privileged regions 

 not every district is adapted to this incomparable 

 crop : wheat needs the mild temperature and fertile 

 soil of the plains, not the harsh climate and dry 

 slopes of the mountains. Let us consider France in 

 particular. Its plains produce excellent wheat, but 

 not enough to feed the entire population; therefore 

 in the hilly and cooler regions, where this cereal 

 cannot be raised, recourse is had in the first place to 

 rye, which yields a bread that is compact, brown, and 

 heavy, but on the whole preferable to any other ex- 

 cept, of course, wheat. This rye bread is the cus- 



