Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1920-01-08
WHEAT oscE WEED
Most important Cereal Has Been
De.a.oped.
Exhaustive Researches Have Proved
That lt.-Had \ More Humble orl-
GIN Than Any Other Known
Artificial Plant.

lie OFiSInHI puTeHtS Vi III Jul
cereals were grasses of one kind or
other, often belonging to remotely diff
ferent groups. but almost all indigen.
Gus inhabitants of the central Asian
and Mediterranean regions.
The pedigree of wheat. the most i'm.
pOrtant of all our cereals, Is somewhat
obscure. 1t has varied to a greater de-
gree from its humble original tim any
other known artificial plant. Fortu-
uately,-we are still able to recover the
steps by which It has been developed
from what might at first sight appear
to be q very unlikely and illendowed
ancestor indeed.
The English couch-grass, which
often proves such II troublesome weed
in our own country. is represented
aronnd the Mediterranean shores by
an allied genus of annual plants known
as gOat-graSs; and one Of these weedy
goat-grasses has now heen shown with
great probability 10 he the wild form
Of our cultivated wheat. II Is small
dwartish grass, with very petty seeds,
and not nearly so full Il spike as the
cereals OF agriculture.
When man first reappears in north.
ern Europe, after the great Ice sheets
once more cleared away from the face
of the land. we find him growing and
using rude forIu of wheat from the
earliest moment Of his re-estab:sh.
ment In the desolated plains. Among
the pile-villages of the Swiss lakes
VIII ch were inhabited by nen of the
newer stone age we find side by side
with the polished flint axes and the
handmade pottery Of the period sew
-ral cereals raised by the lake-dwell-
rrs on the neighborRX maitland. The
"harred seeds and water-lOgged
shocks disinterred from the ruins OF
the villages include millet, barley and
several other grains hut ~ far the
commOnest among them Is II peculiar
small form of wheat, which has been
named scientifically after the ancient
folk by whom it was used.
This lake-wheal, however, though II
dates back to the very beginning OF
the period in Europe. cannot be con-
Sidered as the first variety developed
from the primitive goat grass by the
earliest cultivators: il is so superior in
character tn the wild stock that II
must already have undergone long
course of tillage and selection in more
genial climates, and must have been
brought back to Europe in compar.
atiyeiy perfect condition by the short
dark people who scitled our continent
Immediately nfier The termination OF
the glacial era.
From the neOlithic time forward, the
improved seed has continued to grow
bigger and bigger. both IN the size OF
lbc shocks and in the girth Of the in
dividaai gains, until the present day.
The nr:g'naj sjH3Il late-wheat, indeed.
fingered on in use ia Switzerland and
The north down To the days OF the
ROM conquest: hut. meanwhile. In
Egypt and tn" South. still better vnrie.
ties W, re being gradually developed hv
careful seiec, ON: and we find both
kinds side by side in some few In.
stances; thus showing that both were
grown together AT the same time by
races In different stages OF civilization
With the Introduction OF these be-.
ter kinds by the Greek and Roman col'
oniSts into Gaul and Britain, the old
lake-vh"at became quite extinct. In.
deed in every case the cultivated
seeds and fruits which grew In neo.
lithic garden plots were much smaller
than those of our own time. whereas
the wild seeds ard wild fruits found
under ihe same circumstances are just
as large as their copgeners Of the
present day. A lapse which makes
relatively little difference 70 the siable
wild weeds makes relatively great off:
ferenres in the very plastic and care
fully selected cultivated plants
Grant ALIGN IN Colin Glouts Calendar