, 1861-04-06
MaFvels OF the Wheat Hlant.

aace and use 1t IN proportion to their soci
aaa industrial advancement. 4 similar clail
master only. But fhe whe 1T plant Il lii ;1 frn
= symbol 8, Civilization began when itW eultiy.
: zion commenced. Ho8ayaEe nations eultiTsf
II: The American akurig iaea had no knoW
:: edge OF II, and they qn1ck1y remarked fled
ference between themselves and haEuel1al
eayi9g that the latter lived on seeds whlle the
IN 1esh; that the flesh hed four lees q
Wicn to escape, while they had :hpt IN
With which to pursue 1t, and that the seed
growers would supersade the Hesh-eaterf
Mnere7er txdRat---1a -rultttYated the .uatiun
ABANDON barbarian. Mechanism waa invoked
~ sFen paa9yzce4tnrdes ago, to promote, by rud
contfivances; both ttllage and cleaning. IN
inventor Of the sickle is unknown, but th,
pioneers Of Dutch commerce Il China tier
discovered the EinnaWsng zail. which is nor
2 It HExtdre Ii every American barn, The Yhea
/ plant has long been perhaps ahte greatest poWe, I'VE
N the earth. It was the cknowledgad staf
Of life when. the steam engine wns unknown
hafore single coal mine bad been .opened' y,
me miraculous capacities Of, iron had beeu
ascertained.S 1T has been tle great tntra,
| from which human efforts, ID ali cou3tHes
I mas derived its might1est momentum, It haa
putt tuInpikes' and :raiEoada, dug canals.
founded cities, covered rivers with steamhoats,
beings depend upon it for existence, both ~
growers and Consumers. Danish it from fhe
earth, and it would be vain to SEEK for a snF,.
etltate.. 0ur teeming West would stou snd-
oenly short In its wonderful career Of great
ness. Agriculture everywhere would pause.
essatSy pe universal, and the fact be recogniz.
% 1nat me Wheat p4aut il the corner stone Of
The oldest history mentions the cu1ti1atjon
OF wheat. But the plant has at no time nnr
II any place, been found growing Wild,
Eelsnef 'ls TIE country Of its origin certainly
hno"n: On this point Ee obtain light enough
ron history aud botany to Justify he copisc-
tufe that Its native place Is fersa' and also fn.
ga .but even On this point therein differ
ent opinions entertained by able writers. Il
~ 1zse sseet1aniy not Indigenous to America. In
12aV, siaTe Of Corfez found some rraina
ma9cI aI5 nag oeen accidentally mixed with rice,
ana having carefully planted them and their
product for several yeefs, be raised stoc1- d ~
SEED from which all the subseuuant wheat
'GtoPB oi Mexico have been derived. The con
uogefsy touching the origin Of wheat has been
MosS animated and voluminous In Sicily
a,rf m srass ,: e1onnd called by botanists EgNeps
eeMo, WMch some have eontended to Be the
ttoe parent Of Wheat. It Is hard, rourh 1ooE.
~ Reass, which Ia sometimes gathered in
punches and burt, and the seeds used far fnod
y, II 1s also found in various other places. and
.9efs ars several spt eies of it. It WIS coatend-
Gu ea Eaat oy careful cultivation the Epilops
could be transformed into wheat ThiE wps
s lehemently denied It was known: :: ho,ve1.
u, tnas, under certain circumstance, nlants
very nearly resembling wheat had heen NJ
4ucea H:5 rom Two perfectly distinct eperjes of
thgHops, and the presumption Obtained That
tai ,a; Msre ne ~lld representatives Of cultiya-
more than Egilops, modified By the infinencss
$. q . Ini snn, climate and superior cultivation.
Wnfe this point Was yet mooted by the ho+
aatasss, ~ an'e2perimeht WAS going on. unknoxn
ho.la 10 .nem, ~ ansk1tnted by one who had never
Hsalu q tneir investigations, their discover
i;ttt e teeir oisagreements, and who knew hit
mad an important influence in ieterminino Ise az
Hass!ion n at issue n 1888 French pardeneT
Esprit Fabre, found the Esi1ops oyata nrowina,,
W1d = IN the neighborhood Of his residence 13
Aose. In the autumn Of that wear he sn1eJ ~
Iae - 81 and IN 1889 the plants grew from
:rease m Of fes on,V TIC 9s Rened and yielded an in
=, 1ns increase vas. again .soWed, and in 1870
.ne ae m mc5op pore striking resemblance TO renu.
[1 ne wheat, twas sowed that fall. and Is 1911
ne product was crop OF ea1s more c1oseI1
= ssse4nolng true wheat. Crest and impoTtant
:Eaages N Wefe observable In the grains Of this
'pikelets, while all Of them wefe IN ere1v ttsa
pees \ Ake wheat, each one bearing two or
afee perfectly developed grazing These uasa
o"so, Dut n !s43 the crop was almost entire.
= destroyed by rust Tie few grains saved
Te1e soWed, and in 1873 the plants nrew tbrea
- - ia nlgn t9e straW being frmer than before,
!nd n resembled wheat exactly. One gsa;1
'leldea ne 5so grains for one sown, and an6ther
~ TAINTED again. and in l8Aall tba sn;Ta.
ets were fertile, and many Of them contained
alee grams: IN 1876, all who examined the
sop aaJadged 1t to be true wheat n Fahre
- ba iegaIoeo u himself, and In 1875 be sowed
ne gram IN an open field, and for four sncceed.
ng years continued to produce it with ennal
nccess, the yield being 6 to 8 times The seed
EeIe 30 nshes high. s'1u' a1o
Ihls remarkable result excited the live1iest
: ttentlon rom the learned men Of Europe.
confirmed the position Of. one set of s,s.1,t
nts, who maintain that BY climate. soil "a nns;-
ION, and culture, plants may permanant}v
mango their characteristics, while II cnvsra5
slth confusion some Of tie most :emi1ent
I .1encn N oomn1sts. Instead Of according merit
= ine Simple gardener who for twelve years
- 1pahfa. Iaooled to solve great botanic.
ccused' him Of producing q mgre hYbrid' IN.
ettlng IN their zeal tnat If. so, II was' one
M Mu!:n possessed the rare quality Of reproduc-
III nselt: This series Of experiments il nro.
ounced oy Mr: Klippart of Cincinnati. n hia
eeens exhaustive work on the wheat plant. to |
= PresnanE With the most Important come.
asnees; He thinks that if Wheat must ha
egarded as Of an allied genera Of the Eoiions
proves that botanists were mt snfBGisit,,
anill3r Wllh the Character of. the nlanfs svha,
1e e!asslheatlon was made, and that snrh
1entl!y 'p WA reconcile the traditions, TIE yagua
|heat, which in ancient as well as In n1dern "
IN mes, was claimed to be found in Rabylonia
efsia, and Sfclly,as In ali of them tha Erilons'
very common. .inY.i >
wherever the foot Of civilized man Ia. nan.
NJ :If;fa 3hi5 symbol # big power has gone
lis fact, which ten years ago fmtoftsd vaet
oaantiea OF Hour, 10 now al exporter Of food
noI less curious fact is the number of rar;.
'les OF Wheat, and the apparently capricions
y ste o. growers II selecting particular sorts
II cultivation. Ihe.origin Of some: Of thesa
tsseles: st Is: equally curious. The Hunter /
neat, So extensively cultivated in ,ecotIar5
'rnpg from . single plant accidentally die' s
,Vered in o large tleld.' The Dhio Iambast s
neat Ind similar origin. Whence ttteta ya. 6
t'es proceed no one caa say A Atld 1,f the I
nd iong cultivated on the same farm, shows 8
sasaase neea N rs crop, It may topple up q
gher than H. neigtbors; OR II may Be farper r. i
ID fqller, bnt FROM seme causa attfactfnr M
tfy ist6 Eay where It edme ism hiEd aT qI In
obablJ picked il up In a northern ej,nafe % a
aGA 4h pro91eea hardier berry, and flyino n
q gsh, T. has dropped It ondigested, On iela =
r. This theory is sustained. s,y tia ~ we1i. aIi.
own Mct that aay variety Of this erainwhieh
taken % much south OF its usual localitv and j
ere sb"h, viii present more 9Yignrona and I =
ray q appearance than itslheIghbors Tint hsFe q
en- already acc1imated. t;..s, s.: :, Il
rted from Europe 'a1ld now liz standsrds sr ", e
bestwhea reg ions, camg Hoom ff:sh hi. - a.
aes. 45lhe most popular Of them ia The Med. tt
rranean, which is in reality Danfsh o. No
glan, the common name T Mediterraneaan a &
ing d ufisnomer. - = e..ssan ol
s rAe Wheat plsnt'is much more sensitive TO +
y fifteen minntgs In water ten de9reef ehasa W n
boiling point its vitality il .destroTed IN =
,sAe!n ia!lsqaes the plant iEes $50 days but ~
Mexico only 100@' Hence: tt,,fs lthat mn a. p:
me Southern States have never .bea5,; areat 10
eaepfouoetng regions Climate a1bug for Vt
,ea y SxSH = the a9A we're the right one. 70 70
!he tine Eeqqiiies lim1e. Every nlant heems @ nt
aeeq ,apec1tic stimulant... The tea nf Lava
n1ef1or 1sscauAe the soil is sEorerInadp d1p;fh til
saa1 ol ironi q cause to which the Nankin ~
lon e1 IN Ghlna owes tts orange co1or; Wheat Sc
ms 1Gs 1aEoTtes & the catalogue Of n
;, bis discovered what they az. ani II ban;nr @ ist
d thetn FREELY, Is rewarded by @ crSna "t tSs5 th
rt3taeoleethe yield !ef1 q tei1fnfry 400 an
'se are the phosphates. Distant conut1Ieo De
exhausted Of bones to supply them. and de
nunes or phosphatfc feqii' i'zers are mann. na
area ~ ~ home, to meet the growing de- -
Inter Killing is constantly complained 1l of Go
armets Esithout the causes being accnrate- en-
noWn.a 1fso#ed' too deep, thu grain nm sid
60 ao1eW roots: that 1T: cannot, afford to To
any ct them without ReEishing, When IL
gFouna gas lreezes and thaws many: times, at sta
across these cracEa and 1ntasunder 4
dfpElVng the, plant of itB Necessary nnm-' n