CHAPTER VIII 

 RYE 



Rye has not been cultivated nearly so long as has either 

 wheat or barley. It was not known in ancient Egypt 

 and Greece, and according to Roman writers who lived 

 about the beginning of the Christian era, it was at that 

 time a new plant in that country. The original home of 

 rye is thought to have been in northeastern Europe, 

 where wild rye, which is probably either the ancestor of 

 our cultivated rye or a closely related form, may be 

 found growing wild. With the development of agri- 

 culture in Europe during the past 1500 years, the culture 

 of rye was extended, and it has held a place of great 

 importance in. the agriculture of many nations. Within 

 the last half century, however, the culture of rye in all 

 rye-growing countries has been declining, as the culture 

 of some of the other cereals such as wheat, corn, and oats 

 has been extended. 



165. Botanical characters. — Rye, Secale cereale, in 

 its botanical characters and relations, its general appear- 

 ance and methods of culture, resembles wheat more closely 

 than do any of the other cereals. It differs from wheat 

 in that when the kernel germinates, it produces four 

 instead of three temporary roots. The culms are longer 

 and more slender than those of wheat, sometimes reaching 

 a height of 6 or 7 feet on fertile soils. The spikelet has 

 but two flowers, each of which usually produces a kernel. 

 N 177 



