CHAPTER XVII 

 THE SMALL GRAINS 



The term cereal is applied both to the plants which 

 yield the grains and to the grains themselves. Cereals, 

 then, include com, Kafir com and other sorghums, oats, 

 rye, barley, rice, millet, etc. The cereals are all monocoty- 

 ledons and members of the grass family. They make up 

 by far the greater part of the food of man and have since 

 the dawn of history occupied very largely his cultivated 

 land. 



The leading cereal, or grain crop, varies in different 

 countries. In northern Europe it is rye ; in southern 

 Europe, barley ; in Asia, rice. In North America, the 

 most important crop is maize, or com, while wheat 

 occupies second place although it is the chief food of 

 civilized man. Oats rank third. 



Wheat 



137. Why Wheat is so extensively grown. — The 

 Chinese are known to have cultivated wheat for nearly 

 five thousand years. As civilization has moved west- 

 ward, the cultivation of wheat has moved also in that 

 direction. There are a number of reasons why wheat 

 has always been a leading grain crop and will always 

 continue to be so : 



(a) It succeeds in a wide range of soils and climates. 



(6) It requires as little tillage as any grain we grow. 



(c) It yields quick and abundant returns. 

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