Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1915-09-30
wheat FROM EGYPT
NATURES IN n. OAK.
Seed From the Site Of Ancient
He|iopo|is.

In May, 1915, a few kernels of
Egyptian wheat were sowed in a
garden in this city with no expecta-
tion Of the plants flourishing or
reaching maturity in this northern
latitude. Two heads of Egyptian
wheat were picked from field of
standing grain about five miles from
the city of Cairo, Egypt, in April,
1912. On May 20, 1915, the kernels
from these heads were planted and,
on September Is, the stalks were
gathered, with heads of wheat fully
matured.
The heads of this Egyptian wheat
are rather fiat and bulky, about half
as long as the average head of our
bluestem wheat. Native Egyptian
wheat is large, soft variety of light
color. With one years transplant
ing in this state, decided change
has been found in the wheat, the ker-
nels being much harder and darker
in color. While only twenty-three
kernels were found in one OF the
average-sized heads, each kernel was
of large size and indicates the possi
bilities of big yield by future Guilt
vation and development in this eli
mate. 1t is rather surprising that
wheat originating so near the equa-
tor and ripened under a semi-tropical
sun would flourish and mature in less
than 12O days in North Dakota.
There is large amount of gluten in
this Egyptian wheat, showing it val
liable for -four purposes. The wheat
was not given fair chance, as the
seed was planted under tree and
the plants were shaded during the
entire growth instead of having the
advantage of being in the open sun
shine.
In Egypt, wheat and barley are
sowed in December and harvested in
April. The land from which this
wheat came has been cropped for at
least 1000 or 5000 yearS 2bpt of
course restored annually by the over
flow deposit from the Nile. Such
land is worth from $500 to $1,000
an acre and very little changes
hands. ..,
Some Ancient Egyptian History.
The heads of the Egyptian wheat
were picked in a field of wheat that
covered the site of the ancient city
of On, whose Greek name is Heliop-
oils, or the "City of the Sum-" The
spot from which the wheat came is
one of the most famous in Egyptian
history. The only remaining monu-
ment that stands today on the site
of the old city is a red granite obe-
lisk erected by Usertesen I in the
twelfth dynasty about $500 years
before Christ. Two such obelisks
were erected to mark the entrance
to the famous temple and college Of
Heliopolis. One of the shafts, called
Cleopatra's Needle, was after trans
ferred to another point in Egypt and
is now to be seen in Central Park of
New York City.
The temple of Heliopolis and its
accompanying religious school were
for many centuries the center Of re-
ligious thought and devotion Of the
ancient Egyptians. Heliopolis is one
of the most ancient places known in
history, and Egyptologists have
learned that it was in existence as a
city in the second dynasty of the
Egyptian kings, or about 1000 years
before Christ. The name of On, by
which the city was originally called,
is mentioned number of times in
the Bible. At one time in the tenn
pie Of Helfopolis over $4,000 priests
were employed and the teachers in
the college were celebrated for their
learning throughout the ancient
world. Solon and Plato studied un-
der the priests of Heliopolis.
Nothing remains on the site at
present but few piles of old foun-
dation stone and the obelisk to show
the site of this city. which occupied
an area of three square miles. The
wheat field comes close up to the
ancient shaft, which is covered with
inscriptions relating to its history and
purpose. With the decline of Heliop-
oils, which was the literary and re-
ligious center of Egypt, Alexandria,
on the seacoast, became its successor
and furnished learning and scholar
ship for the early Greek and Roman
eras.
During the second Egyptian dynas-
ty the worship Of the sun god Re was
instituted ut Heliopolis and spread
&h,nw~hO,,< EQvnf Dnrfng that Do-