The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1908-07-03

Probably no other object, great or
small, is pregnant with wider posi-
bilities in its relation to mankind than
q grain of wheat-a tiny seed which
measures, in it's dry state, one-quarter
Of an, inch in lengts,. Imagine what
would result II this grain, with its
fellows throughout the world, were
by some unforeseen chance to chain
up the life principle within itseH-if,
In other words, germiDation were to
be arrested for single year. The
result to mankind would be appalling!
Not only would millions of our fellow
creatures be brought to the verge Of
starvation, but the whole fabric Of
civilization would be shaken to Its
foundations. That this calamity is
averted year by year is only in a
limited sense the outcome of mans
activities. True, he prepares the soil
and watches long and patiently for
the harvest. But with the actual Ia
Dor of birth he has no concern. Ma
: ture alone holds the key and we can
only stand and marvel as we behold
the door of life revolving upon it's
hinges.
Probably most people imagine that
wheat grows in haphazard manner.
This, however, is not at all the case.
termination proceeds along a prede-
termined course-cne event succeed
ing another with answering preci-
sion-and at the present moment ger
mination is taking place over thou
sands Of acres. Sachs experiments
tend to show that wheat begins to
grow below five degrees centigrade-
say at about 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
The first sign of life within the grain
IL the splitting of the outer skin which
covers the embryo. e., the slight
prominence at one end of the seed.
The sheath which envelops the radicle,
or young root, is now seen to appear;
and not long afterwards the plumule,
or young shoot, commences its jour
-ney towards the source OF light. while
the radicle burrows into the ground.
A day later the latter will have
heightened considerably, and delicate
roothairs will have made their APP
pearance. These take from the soil
both moisture and certain chemical
pN,ements; and the root is gifted with a
-,.vst eri6sTss> power of selecting from
~, soil exactly what it needs as food,
reiecting all else. In this manner, ana
NV means of the carbonic acid gas
absorbed by the plumule, the tiny plant
heeins to elaborate food for itself; so
that. when the supply of nourishment
contained in the grain gives out, the
young organism has already become
self-supporting. As the days pass, two
pairs Of adventitious roots are pro-
duced to tighten the labors Of the pri-
mary root. Then the first folial leaf be-
gins to unfurl. But ere 1t is fully expand
ed. a fifth adventurous root is pro-
duced; SO that, when the birth of the
wheat becomes an accomplished fact,
and when the first folial leaf is fully
expanded, the tiny plant already pos
sesses system of six roots.
Naturally the baby wheat plant sell
dom develops in the symmetrical man
ner shown in the photographs
reproduced. 1t grows among par
ticles of soil varying in size
from grains Of sand to large stones.
Thus, in a few days, it usually con.
trives to twist itself into confused
tangle below the surface Of the soil.
A careful examination, however, will
show that it has not departed in the
smallest detail from the principle Of
growth which the pictures portray.
~