194 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
For farm uses they are usually preferable, 
being less pugnacious among other animals 
than the males. 
With the present prevailing taste, we pre¬ 
sume that those requiring mule labor will 
hardly desire to retrograde into the old style 
of animal which we have described—nor 
would we advise it; but we wish to caution 
all who are unaccustomed to the animal, not 
to anticipate too much in the amount of la¬ 
bor which they will perform, nor place a too 
low estimate on the amount of food they 
will consume; and, beyond all, not to pre¬ 
sume on a want of care and attention to 
them, either while they are at work or at 
rest. A mule, like all animals, must not be 
over-worked, he must be well fed, well 
tended, and kindly treated. With these, for 
all severe drudgery, the mule is unquestion¬ 
ably superior to the horse as an economical 
animal; and when one chooses to indulge 
an eye for large size, fine style, carriage, and 
other superior qualities in the animal, he 
may, by lengthening his purse, obtain those 
that are truly noble in appearance, and fine 
in—mule action. 
A further word to those who are not famil¬ 
iar with the domestic habits of the mule. 
Let those who have not constant labor for 
them never attempt to keep them as a vj or Ic¬ 
ing animal. Sunday is about all the leisure 
time a mule should enjoy, and even that day 
he should be in a stable. Turn one or more 
mules into a pasture with other beasts, par¬ 
ticularly horses, if the fences be not at least 
seven to eight feet high, and strong at that, 
there is no security that they will be found 
there when wanted, or that the other crea¬ 
tures in the field will not have their brains 
knocked out, their legs broken, or their 
hides torn into strips by their vicious at¬ 
tacks. 
SGILQPS OVATA THE ORIGINAL OF WHEAT. 
In the journal of the Royal Agricultural 
Society of England, alluded to two weeks 
since, we find a translation from the French 
of an account of a scries of important ex¬ 
periments made by M. Esprit Fabre, of Ague, 
in growing true wheat from the common 
JEgilops ova la of the south of France. The 
article is illustrated by numerous engravings, 
showing the annual improvement of the na¬ 
tive JEgilops, till it becomes true wheat. What 
follows is the most important part of this 
article, and is sufficient to give our readers 
a clear idea of the curious and persevering 
efforts of M. Fabre in proving the origin of 
wheat. 
First year of cultivation, 1839.—The plants 
were sown for the first time in 1838. In 1839 
the flowering stems attained a height of 
from seventy to eighty centim. The plants 
ripened from the 15th to the 20th July; they 
had but few fertile spikelets, each contain¬ 
ing only one or two grains, which ripened 
late ; all the other spikelets were sterile by 
abortion. As a result, I obtained five grains 
for one, and the grains were close, concave, 
and very hairy at the top. The ears were 
deciduous, that is to say, they broke and fell 
off as soon as ripe. Each valve of the glume 
had only two awns, of which one was short¬ 
er than the other. In one plant, one of these 
awns became abortive, and there only re¬ 
mained one to each valve of the glume. On 
others there were some glumes with a long 
and some with a short beard. Moreover, 
these plants had exactly the appearance of 
Touzelle wheat. In some of them the angles 
of the rachis were strongly ciliated. 
Second year, 1840.—In 1839 there was a 
second sowing. In 1840, at harvest time, 
the spikelets were more numerous than be¬ 
fore, and contained two grains. The valves 
of the glume terminated in two awns, of 
which one was four to five times shorter 
than the other, and was sometimes reduced 
to a mere tooth. The fruit (grains) was less 
compact, less concave, and less hairy at the 
end. The angles of the rachis were less 
ciliated, and the ears less deciduous, i.e., 
they fell off less easily. The grains con¬ 
tained much more flour than those of the 
preceding year. 
Third year, 1841.—The seeds sown in the 
autumn of 1840 gave in 1841 plants with ears 
like those of Triticum , and with scarcely 
any sterile spikelets ; the spikelets general¬ 
ly contained two grains, sometimes three, 
less concave, and less hairy than those of 
the preceding year. 
The valves of the glume had two awns, 
one of which was very long, and the other so 
completely abortive as almost to justify a 
statement that the awns were single. The 
plants became more and more like Triticum 
in appearance. 
Fourth year, 1842.—The seeds sown 1811 
►yielded plants which were attacked by rust. 
The ears of these plants were remarkable 
for the small development of the awn, which 
gave them the appearance of beardless Tou¬ 
zelle. There were twenty ears which did 
not yield a single grain. 
Those plants which did not suffer from the 
attack of rust produced deciduous ears, the 
awns of which were less abortive; there 
were as many as three flowers in the same 
spikelet, and they yielded two or three good 
grains, hairy, but slightly, at their apex. 
Fifth year, 1843.—In 1843 the plants, from 
the seed sown in 1842, attained the height of 
a yard. One of the two awns of the valves 
of-the glume was so short and rudimentary, 
that these valves may be said to have had 
but one awn. 
In each spikelet were two fertile flowers 
at least, somtimes three. The corn or grains 
were so well developed that they were partly 
exposed through the valves of the florets. 
The ears were less fragile. The plants were 
exactly like wheat in appearance. One of 
these plants, kept carefully clear of weeds, 
yielded 880 for one, and another 450. These 
grains, belter developed, protruded through 
their coverings, and did not remain com¬ 
pletely inclosed as did those of the preced¬ 
ing years. 
Sixth year, 1844.—All the spikelets of the 
plants obtained this year from the seeds sown 
in the autumn of 1843 were fertile, and a 
tolerable quantity of them contained three 
grains. These grains, which were visible 
through their envelops, were still concave 
on one side. The ears remained deciduous. 
The valves of the glume had only one awn, 
with an excessively short rudiment of anoth¬ 
er. 
Seventh year , 1845.—The plants gathered 
in 1845 were very like wheat. Their valves 
had only one awn, accompanied by a mere 
tooth, the rudiment of the other. The glume 
inclosed four or five flowers, of which three 
were fertile, as in good corn. These plants 
may be regarded as truly Triticum. 
The experiments which led to the results 
just detailed, and which were conducted 
during seven successive years, were made 
in an inelosure surrounded by high walls, 
far from any place where cereals were cul¬ 
tivated, and in which there was no other 
gramineous plant. 
Eighth year, 1848.—Cultivation in open 
field. Thinking that I had brought the JEgi¬ 
lops triticoides to its greatest perfection, 
and that I had ultimately obtained a true 
Triticum , or wheat, I determined to cultivate 
my plants in the open fields, and to sow them 
broad-cast in the ordinary way. Accord¬ 
ingly in 1845 I sowed some seeds in this 
manner in a field near the road to Marseillan, 
in a soil like what is called in the country 
souberhe, and inclosed on all sides by vine¬ 
yards. Care was taken to avoid the open 
fields in which wheat was cultivated, in or¬ 
der to prevent any pollen from it falling on 
the Triticum obtained from JEgilops. For 
four years successively this was continued, 
and in each autumn 1 obtained produce simi¬ 
lar to that yielded by common wheat grown 
in soils of a like nature ; the yield was from 
six to eight times the quantity of seed, vary¬ 
ing with the year. 
The plants obtained in 1850 had the follow¬ 
ing characters : The stems were straight, 
not bent, from sixty to seventy centim. in 
height, and full of pith. The valves of 
the glume terminated in a single awn, the 
rudiment of the other being scarcely visible* 
They were very slightly striated, and almost 
hairless. The two valves of the florets were 
membranous, as in JEgilops, but the exterior 
one had only a single awn, and the other had 
none. The ears were composed of from 
eight to twelve spikelets, having two or 
three fertile flowers, and each consequently 
producing two or three grains: these grains 
were very flowery and very little concave. 
The yield of 1850 was inferior both in 
quality to that of the three preceding years; 
but this was evidently the result of atmo¬ 
spheric influences. The excessive dryness 
which in that year prevailed from March un¬ 
til the autumn, had a very prejudieal effect 
on cereals. 
For twelve consecutive years I have thus 
cultivated JEgilops triticoides and its pro¬ 
ducts; I have seen them gradually attain 
perfection, and become at last true wheat 
{Triticum), and I have never seen a single 
plant reassume its primitive form, that of 
JEgilops ovata, L. This form never reap¬ 
peared. 
Let us now recapitulate the series of modi¬ 
fications by which JEgilops ovata became 
transformed into a sort of Triticum sativum 
(cultivated wheat). 
JE. ovata, as generally met with in awild 
state, is glaucous in all its parts. Its flow¬ 
ering stems never exceed twenty or twenty- 
five centim. in height; its upper leaves nev¬ 
er reach the first tooth of the rachis of the 
ear ; the last is short and oval, has only four 
spikelets, and of these the two lower ones 
are alone fertile. 
Even in a wild state the grains of JE. ova¬ 
ta give rise to the variety called triticoides, 
in which one or two of the awns of JE. ovata 
disappear, so that the valves of the glume of 
the greater part of the spikelets have oniy 
two long awns instead of four in the lower 
spikelets. The outer membranous valve of 
the floret, instead of terminating in three 
awns, has only one, at the base of which may 
be seen the two rudiments of those which 
are wanting. The other membranous valve 
is without a beard, and is ciliated at its apex. 
The ears are formed, like those of JE. ovata, 
of three or four spikelets, generally sterile, 
rarely fertile. The florets are hermaphro¬ 
dite-, and inclose three stamens around a 
pistil, ending in two long silky stigmas. 
These florets arc often sterile, inconsequence 
ofthe abortion of the pistil. The fruit (grains) 
of those which are fertile is elongated, angu¬ 
lar, very concave, and sometimes flattened 
on one side ; its color is yellow, approach¬ 
ing blackness, like that of JE. ovata, but is 
much longer, and is silky at the top. 
These grains, sown and cultivated for the 
