405 
Whole 
plant. 
Straw. 
Chaff. 
Grain. 
Silica. 
Phosphates. 
Carbonate of lime. 
Magnesia. 
Potash. 
Soda. 
19.800 
31.800 
9,500 
1,440 
22,770 
2,480 
1,030 
8,314 
3,531 
5,413 ? 
3,141 \ 
53,120 
14,500 
1,000 
0,160 
4,300 
5,020 
2,460 
11,700 
65,360 
13.260 
4,200 
0,512 
4,740 
3,751 
1,210 
8,967 
23,807 
57,849 
none 
none 
12.035 
5,460 
none 
none 
Chlorine. 
Sulphuric acid. 
final. __...._ 
Organic matter. 
Carbonic, acid _ _ ____ 
8,113 
4,268 
T.oss _ 
0.849 
100,219 
100,379 
106,268 
100,000 
GENUS 38. SECALE. Linnaeus. 
[From the Latin sccare , to cut; or the Celtic secja, a sickle.] 
Spikelets two-flowered, the flowers sessile, distichous, perfect, with the linear 
rudiment of a third, terminal flower; glumes nearly opposite, nearly equal, 
keeled, awuless or awned; paleae herbaceous, lower one awned, keeled, with 
unequal sides: upper palea shorter, two-keeled ; scales 2, entire, ciliate; stamens 
3; ovary sessile, hairy; stigmas 2, snbsessile; caryopsis free, hairy at summit; 
spikes simple, compressed, linear. 
104. Secale Cere ale. Linnaeus. 
Rye. 
Glumes subulate-linear and with the awns scabrous; paleae smooth, the 
lower one bristly-ciliate on the keel and exterior margin. Annual; flowers in 
June. Culms 4 to 6 feet high. Extensively cultivated. Though inferior to 
wheat, it is the principal bread-corn in the northern parts of Europe. It does 
not require a soil as rich as for wheat, and hence is often substituted by those 
who do not care to keep up the fertility of the soil by proper manuring and a 
judicious rotation of crops. 
The native country of wheat, rye and oats is unknown, though supposed to 
be central or western Asia. It is stated that very recently M. C. Koch has 
found rye growing under circumstances where it appears to be really sponta¬ 
neous and native. On the mountains of Pont, in the country of Hemschin, 
Asia, upon granite soil at an elevation of 5,000 or 6,000 feet he found it along 
the road.* Rye yields 25 to 30 bushels per acre, requiring a bushel or a 
* Annals of Scientific Discovery, 1850, page 300. 
30 
