72 



History of Wheat. 



genuous reasoning sought to transfer the origin of wheat to 

 Central Asia and to a geological period more remote than had been 

 previously suggested. There were also Schweinfurth's numerous 

 articles on the economic botany of Egypt, ancient and modern, 

 contributions of fundamental value, but scattered through many and 

 often almost inaccessible journals, and therefore not always turned 

 to full account. Much of that literature, I reasoned, must have 

 escaped the professional botanist and agriculturist, and it was 

 time that it should be brought to their notice. It might arouse 

 their interest and, beyond their circles, the interest of all who are 

 accustomed to trace the present in the past, seeing in it merely the 

 latest link in a long chain through which runs the never broken 

 stream of life. It might fall on fertile soil and stimulate further 

 and better organised research in a field which is full of abiding 

 interest and practical promise, but also demands great versatility 

 from the student and the co-operation of various departments of 

 learning. But if I had still any doubts as to the appropriateness 

 of dealing with this subject, they were set at rest when almost at 

 the last moment, thanks to the generosity of Professor Schwein- 

 furth and Professor Max Koernicke, material came into my hands 

 which went a long way to confirm Aaronsohn's discovery of the 

 primitive or wild state of wheat. 



I have used in the title of this paper the expression " the wheats " 

 instead of simply speaking of "wheat." This requires a few words 

 of explanation. What we usually understand when we speak of 

 " Wheat " comprises a multitude of races, mostly of economic 

 interest, which fall under one of the three groups of the Soft, the 

 Hard, and the so-called English wheats ; or, to use their Latin 

 designations, the Vulgar e, the Durum , and the Turgidum Wheats. 

 To them might be added as less common and economically less 

 important wheats, those of the Compactum and Polonicum group, 

 popularly known as " Dwarf " and " Polish " wheats. With the 

 exception of the last, all these together form, in the system 

 devised by the prominent agrostologist, Eduard Hackel, the sub- 

 species lenax of the species Triticum sativum. They are charac- 

 terised, as the name tenax indicates, by having spikes with a 

 tough spindle which, when mature, does not break up into joints 

 and grains easily falling out from their husks or glumes. To these 

 wheats proper are opposed the so-called Spelt wheats. The 

 spindles of these break up into joints at maturity, the grains 

 falling with their husks and being more or less difficult to separate 

 from them. To this group we have to refer, of cultivated wheats 

 — the Spelt proper (Triticum Spelta), the Emmer (Triticum 

 dicoccum), and the One-grained wheat or Einkorn (Triticum mono- 

 coccum) ; further, the two wild wheats, Triticum cegilopioides and 

 Triticum dicoccoides. The macroscopic characters mentioned are, 



