306 ESSAYS ON "WHEAT 



morning about 6 o'clock and a second time in the even- 

 ning at about 1 — provided always that the temperature 

 of the air is not less than 14°C. (57°r.). The entire 

 process lasts in most cases from fifteen to twenty minutes 

 for each flower." ^^ 



XII. Conclusion 



Here the writer must bring to a conclusion his re- 

 marks upon Wheat — the cereal which is and has been 

 of such vast importance to the world, which was the 

 chief basis of the ancient civilization of the lands of 

 the Mediterranean, and which is still the main source 

 of food for the civilization of modem Europe, of a large 

 part of Asia, of North and South America, and of Aus- 

 tralia. If there had been no wheat upon the earth dur- 

 ing the last 25,000 years or if wheat had been present 

 but primitive man had not succeeded in domesticating 

 it, it is certain that the course of man's evolution would 

 have been greatly retarded and that the New World, 

 wihere these pages have been penned, would wear to-day 

 a very different aspect to that with which we are familiar. 

 That bread-eaters should desire to know more about the 

 origin and history of the cereal which sustains them is 

 most natural. If this curiosity should be satisfied to 

 some extent by what has been gathered together in this 

 book, the author will feel that his labor has been well 

 rewarded. 



^siUd., p. 142. 



THE END 



PBINTBD TS THE UNITED STATES OF AMBBIOA 



