i. 
and culture; but its grain yields a smaller pro- 
portion of flour or meal than most other kinds 
of wheat; and its flour is scarcely superior to 
that obtained from the finest barley. It is cul- 
tivated in Egypt and in the south-east of Asia; 
it has been known in Germany for about 250 
years, and cultivated in France for about 80 or 
90 years; it was introduced to Britain from 
Egypt about the end of last century; and it has 
been experimentally cultivated, under different 
names, in various parts of both England and 
Scotland ; but it does not seem to be well suited 
to British agriculture,—for it is very liable to be 
laid, it is retentive of moisture at the time of 
harvest, it does not display any such luxuriance 
and productiveness here as it does in other coun- 
tries, and it is decidedly objectionable on account 
of the qualities of its grain and flour. 
Three other varieties of turgid wheat which 
have become known to British agriculturists are 
the Losanna red turgid wheat, Mumford’s gigan- 
tic wheat, and the American thumb wheat; and 
the first and second of these are always single- 
eared, while the third possesses the peculiar ear- 
ing habit of the Egyptian. 
The dark-eared or dark-headed wheat, though 
usually classed by botanists as a separate species 
under the name of Zriticum atratum, is also suf- 
ficiently akin to the cone wheats to be regarded 
as a mere variety of Triticum turgidum, though 
at the same time it has some affinity to the 7i7- 
ticum spelia. It was introduced to Britain from 
Austria in 1820; and has been made the subject 
of some comparative experiments; but does not 
recommend itself to cultivation by any proper- 
ties or habits of superiority to the Rivet wheats 
of England. 
The Compressed- Eared Oereal Wheats.—These 
comprise the stiff, hard, or hairy wheats of bo- 
tanists, constituting the species 7ritzcwm durum. 
They are characterized by large, broad, com- 
pressed ears, generally very short in proportion 
to their breadth,—by elongated spikelets,—by 
large, hard-like, shining chaff,—and by long- 
shaped, hard, and flinty or horny grains; and all 
are awned, and have stiff, short, upright straw, 
and broad foliage. “'These wheats,” says Mr. 
Lawson, ‘‘are in general very early, and may be 
sown in spring. Their cultivation has been seve- 
ral times attempted in Britain, but with little 
success, owing partly, no doubt, to the unsuita- 
bleness of our climate, and partly to their pecu- 
liar hardness, and, in the estimation of our 
bakers, inferiority of their samples. The chief 
range of their cultivation lies along the shores 
and in the islands of the Mediterranean, and 
along the shores of the Levant, as also in Arabia, 
Persia, and some parts of India. The Arabs cook 
some of them in the same manner as they do rice, 
which they all resemble in the hardness of their 
grain. Wheats of this sort are often import- 
‘ed for the London markets, but were at first 
very much disliked by millers, from the ordi- 
ss +--+ 
675 
ee 
—$—$— $$$ 
a 
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nary millstones being unsuitable for grinding 
them.” 
The hard Sicilian wheat bears some slight re- 
semblance to the common-eared wheats, and may 
be regarded as forming a connecting link between 
the compressed-eared wheats and them, through 
the medium of the small Sicilian bearded spring 
wheat. Its ear is about 3 inches long and 2 of 
an inch in diameter, and has a square form ap- 
proaching to cylindrical; its awns are consider- 
ably longer than the ear; its glumes and palez 
are long, smooth, white, and shining; and its 
grain has a lightish-red colour, and is medium- 
sized, elongated, hard, and horny. 
The Georgian wheat is much more strictly a 
compressed-eared and hard-grained wheat than 
the preceding. ~Its straw is short, upright, and 
quite solid; its ear is compact, sie cylindrical, 
a little irregular toward the base, about 2 inches 
long, and from one-half to five-sixths of an inch 
in breadth; its spikelets are long and pointed ; 
its awns are about twice as long as the ear; its 
glumes and pale are long, whitish, and slightly 
downy; and its grain is about one-third of an 
inch long, less than one-sixth of an inch in dia- 
meter at the middle, slightly triangular, curved 
towards the ends, of a light red colour, and very 
hard and flinty or horny. ° 
The Siberian wheat has considerable affinity 
and resemblance to the Georgian wheat. But 
its straw is a little hollow; its ear and spikelets 
are shorter and more compact than those of the 
Georgian wheat, of a light brownish colour, and 
more distinctly downy ; and its grains are rather 
shorter, and equally hard and flinty. 
The Morocco or Tangier wheat has hard, up- 
right, and generally hollow straw, a larger and 
more irregularly shaped ear than either the hard 
Sicilian, the Siberian, or the Georgian wheat, 
and grains of the same colour and hardness as 
these wheats, but of larger size. “This sort,” 
says Mr. Lawson, “together with several more 
varieties in mixture, differing from it chiefly in 
colour, was sent to this country several years ago 
by the British Consul at Tangier ; they were tried 
in several parts, but their cultivation has been 
abandoned, or they are only to be met with in 
collections.” 
Three other kinds of hard wheat which have 
become known to some British agriculturists are 
the Ishmael wheat, the Manfredonia wheat, and 
Dr. Rolland’s Nepaul hard wheat; and the last 
of these differs so far from the rest as to make 
some slight claim to be considered a different 
species, or at least a very distinct variety. 
The Loose-Eared Cereal Wheats—These are the 
Polish wheats, constituting the botanical species 
Triticum polonicum. But though generally term- 
ed Polish, they really are natives of various parts 
of Africa and south-eastern Asia; and they are 
also popularly called wheat of Cairo, Mogadore 
wheat, Grecian wheat, Polish rye, and Astrachan 
rye. They are readily distinguished from all 
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