The National tribune., 1910-12-22
History of Our Grains.

Editor National Tribune: WIN YOU
kindly give us Il history OF our grains,
wheat. corn, oats, barley and buck
wheat when and by whom they were
brought TO this country "A. G. Nicely.
l36th y. Y, Hermitage. n. Y.
No one knows where wheat originat-
ed. IL is probably native OF western
Asia, but that Is as close as we can
come to it. The ancient Egyptians and
Greeks believed that It was a special
gift of the gods, and attributed most
of the credit to the Goddesses OF Ag-
riculture. Demeter. Ceres. Isis. and 9TH
er delties who presided over the fields.
1t was cultivated as early as the Stone
Age by the Lake Dwellers in Switzer-
land. The belief that wheat is n spe-
cial gift of the gods is justified by the
fact that nowhere has ii been found
growing wild. once there was theory
that wheat was modification uf
Triticum ovatum, coming from cultivat-
ing grass found along the Mediter-
ranean and in western Asia. This theory
was discredited, however. when il was
found that after 20 years of cuitva-
tion the grass could not be modified
into wheat. The nearest approach is
that the grass and the wheat were
mutually fertile. 1t is true that there
Is a species of one-grained grass
growing in Servia that is thought to be
was unknown on this continent until
the arrival of the whites. who at once
began to plant ii and make it their
principal source Of breadstuff.
1t is believed that corn's nearest rel
ative is the Mexican teosinte, tho there
are number of other plants which
approximate the type. The present be-
lief is that corn originated in the trop-
ical Dlateaus of South America and
gradually spread among the Indians as
far north as the Canadian line. There
is an infinite variety of corn, from the
dwarf varieties with corn two feet high
In the north, to the magnificent stalks
of 80 feet altitude in the West fnde%
The ears show a like diversity from an
inch in length to 10 inches or more.
In South America they raise a corn
called Cusco. the grains of which weigh
30 times as much as the popcorn grains.
All that we know definitely about the
origin OF corn is that it was extensively
cultivated by the Indians when Column
bus arrived, and was their principal
If not sole breadstuff. The Spaniards
carried the seed back 10 Europe but its
cultivation widened very slowly and is
yet confined to the southern part of the
continent. In this country it is grown
over vast territory. extending from
81 degrees north latitude to 40 degrees
south latitude.
Oats is believed to have come from a
single species native to eastern Europe
and Tartary. The grain has been known
from the earliest times and has every
where been regarded as a grain of great
value either for forage in the South
or for food in the extreme North.
Russia and the United States are the
greatest oats-producing countries in the
world.
Barley is also one of the oldest grains
known and was the leading crop of the
ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans.
The sacred books OF the Chinese men
tion its cultivation 1000 years ago. IT
has been found in the earliest Egyptian
monuments and in the ruins of the
lake dwellings in Switzerland. Unlike
wheat. 1t has been found growing wild
in western Asia, which is therefore con-
sdered its native home.
Buckwheat is native of the basin of
the Volga and the shores of the Caspian
Sea and many parts of central Asia. 1t
was brought to Europe some time dur
ing the Middle Ages, and in the 9Th
century had spread generally over CEN
trail Europe. Buckwheat is found grow
ing wild in many parts of Asia, and ser~
eral countries have species of the grain
which seem irdigenous.-Editer Ma
tional Tribune