The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1857-01-28
farnrer's Goluuln.
How blest the Farmers simple life.
Far from the noise of the City's strife.
THE ORIGIN OF h E

TdE OhkG1N OE
It is a fact. not generally known, that
the origin of wheat and other cereals is
involved in ~obscurity, for the old notion
that wheat is indigenous in Central Asia,
that startiug-roint of the human race,
has been exploded by the researches of
modern botanists. History informs US
when our fathers first began to cultivate
the carrot. goosebcrry, currant, aspara-
gus, bset root and strawberry: but is
silent as to when wheat, rye. oats, bar
lev, beans, maize, c%ucumbers and mel
ons were known only as indigenous
plants. Nowhere do the cereals exist
as native; nowhere have they shown a
tendency to run wild. If not preserved
by human labor they would apparently
perish altogether.
In a late number of the Edinburg
Review, IN able paper is devoted to dis
cussing the origin of the cereals, espe-
ciaIly of wheat. The writer states that
there ai e two theories upon this subject.
One considers races Of plants to be
immutable, and holds, therefore, that
wheat existed once, nay may still exist,
iudigeneously, so nowhere. The other
maintains that the cereal, as at present
known, has been developed by c%ultiva-
ton. This is the opinion held by the
writer in the Review, who even specifies
tho particular plant from which wheat
has originated, a grass growing wild OF
the shores of the Mediterranean, and
know to botanists by the nan of asgi-
lops.
In confirmation of this hypothesis
may be adduced the fact, that, wherever
the early history of the cultivation of a
species is known, it is found that man
has first applied to.his use a plant grow
ing wild about him. He discovers some
berry, for example, whose taste he likes;
aud in order to have it more pleutifully
begins to cultivate it the cultivated
plant improves upon the original one
he lows seeds from the best specimens;
and at last a berry is obtained, so supe-
or to the one be first found growing wild
that it could not be possible to trace its
origin, if the process had not taken place
under his own observation. Analogous
to this, it is fair to presume, has been
the origin of wheat. In fact, a French
botauist, reasoning in this way, and OBJ
serving many striking points Of resent
blance between the agilops aud wheat,
undertook to develope the latter from
such plants as appeared to approach
nearer to its object, actually succeeded
in his object. The plant, thus obtained,
still continues to be cultivated, both by
him and by others, aud to yield real,
bona file wheat.
The opponents of the development
thereof, however, maintain that the
plant ON which this cxperimentalist
worked, was an accident all hybrid, ar
cross, between the egilops and the wheat
:~growing in adjacent fields In favor of
this view they adduce the fact that, ty
such a crossing. artificially conducted,
similar results have been produced. On
the other hand, natural hybrids, between
grasses, are as yet unknown to %botanists,
Moreover, when different sorts Of wheat
are grown together, they never cross.
A still more conclusive proof is the fact
that hybrids are rarely maintained be.
yond the second generation without an
infusion of new vigor from the parent
stock, in which case a gradual assimula-
tion to the latter occurs. Hence, if the
experiment which We have quoted had
originated in q material cross between
the agilops and wheat, the hybrid would
either have persisted after a year or two,
or have returned to its original type.
It is probable, therefore, that wheat
never existed wild, but has been devel-
oped by cultivation from a rude plant.
The Ediuburg Reviewer, after review
ing the question in every aspect, comes
to this opinion at last, and says nothing
can shake his conviction, unless wheat
should be found really growing wild in
some ravine of Central Asia.