The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1873-10-09
THE REMARKABLE PHENOMENON

| ~ unknown. We ind that o0ly one
species Of grass was cultivated here
namely; maize. A negro slave belonging
TO Cortes was the irst man who raised
wheat in Mexico; be found three Eerns1a
among some rice which had been sent as
provisions for the army from Spain, and
these he planted.
One of the most interesting questions is,
whether there are cay regions where our
cereals may still be found in state Of
ORIGINAL wILDNRss.
We are una6le to demonstrate this, or
indicate their first home, with certainty.
In Gen esis, chapter l, verse 80, We read.
that the antediluvians subsisted upon her
baceous food; their teeth were adapted to
this,-for in some ancient mummies, su p
posed to be 5000 years old, the oldest
forms OF incissors and coneer teethI were
found, that resembled depressed cones
with fat crowns. The snstenance of the
meet ancient Egyptians was, therefore, en-
tirely Of a herbaceous character, am" the
teeth underwent no change until the ia
PRODUCTION of animal food; for organisms
Invariably adapt themselves to the con-
ditions Of their existence. A fossihzed
human jaw, which was found in 1863,
near Moulins de Qnignon, in France, by
the naturalist, Boucher de Perthss. ex-
hibits the same fAttened. rough teeth of
the granivora.' Who, therefore, can de-
termne the period when the first begin.
ming in cultiyatiDg grain was made?s All
we know Of certainty is, that the
European cereals are of Asiatic origin,
and maize IF American. tits true that
wheat. barley, and spelt are said to have
been found in a state of original wildness
in Persia, IN the vicinity Of Hamadat,and
in Mesopotamin, near the Euphrates. But
views differ greatly upon this subject.
Some think that cereals are only found
in a wild state in districts once densel v
peopIed, and that attending circumstan-
ces render it far more probable that the
cereals had run wild. When any kind of
grain runs wild, it usually 'sa 'a' -n..
LOSES THOSE CHARACTERISTICS
which render il valuable in a domesti-
Gated state. So maize has never been
found in state of original wildness in
America. Other naturalists, again, deny
the possibility of such degeneration, of
which no signs have ever been discovered
in Europe. The current view probably
is, that the wild originals have disap-
pearsd from the face of the earth, and
did not possess those valuable qualities
for which We cultivate their successors to-
days. asr So 1s5mr1 Iav.,
It's remarkable that SO few species of
u single family furnish tbs chief article
of Diet to the greater part OF the human
family. Of4,oO0 specimens of grass
-3 on LESS THAN TWENTY
are cultivated for food, and these few
give US bread, beer, brandy, and sugar.
the. sugar-cane being also a specles of
grass, With man plants have ever wan
deled, aud with him they will continue
to wander wherever he makes home
and there is sufficient warmth and moist
ure to awake and sustain life.
Of the various species of gram, barley
and oats reach the highest degree Of north
latitude, ..r...
u.1zp 9'i 'h Lido
attains the largest size. 1t is native of
America, and. when the Europeans first
came to this continent, was cultivated by
all agricultural tribes. Columbus intro
duced 1t into Europe. It fourishes best
in the hot and moist climate of the trop-
les, where it yields SEQ and 40O-fold, and
frequently 600 to s0o-fold in very fruitful
regions. Farther north, in Mexico and
California, the yield is only 10 fold. It
need not surprise us that so prolific a
plant should have been disseminated very
rapidly in the tropical regions of the Old
World. Nowhere is the consumption of
this species of grain so considerable as
lin tho kst districts Of America, where,
when grown in large Quantities, its luxu,
rant growth and graceful habit add
greatly to the beauty Of the landscape.
At the beginning of this century, Mexico
alone, with popula ton of only 100000