The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1922-03-08
EXHIBIT OF
WHEATS
Many Varieties From Many
Lands Shown in Museum

which are known to have been used
by primitive man 10000 to 5000
years ago and which are still cul-
tivated in certain parts Of the world,
form part of the new exhibit Of
cultivated wleats which has recent
ly been added to the economic col
lections of Field Museum Of Ma
tiCnal History here.
Modern cultivated wheats from
various parts Of the world complete
the exhibit Most of the wheats
have been acquired through the CO.
Investigation of the Department. of
Agriculture. This department is
constantly engaged in growing new
and old varieties of wheat in order
to determine their suitability under
various conditions in the Urite3
States.
Wheat was first introduced into
this country in 1920 By the Spani-
ards and later into New England
and Virginia by the early settlers,
according to Director d. =. Davis,
of the museum.
.In Europe and Asia it las been
grown sinre prehistoric times" Mr.
Davis stat, s. The beginning Of its
cultivation belongs to an early pc
riod in the history of the human
race.
Mankind has probably always
used the seeds of the wild grasses
for food. Some Of these furnish
very fair-sized grains and from
such our cultivated cereals are un-
questionably derived, though botan-
lists cannot now always trace them
to their wild prototypes. An ex-
ample. of such is the wild Emmer
of Palestine, a large grained wild
gra which has been claimed by
som. to be the ancestor Of our
cultivated wheats Of today
Certain primitive wheats are
still grown in places in southern
Europe. Such are the Einkorn,
Emmer and Spelt. each OF which
probably represents group Of
wheats of separate origin. The
Einkorn still grows wild in Siberia
and elsewhere in the south OF Eu-
rope. Spelt is the Oldest of the
cultivated ;wheats. 1t was probably
the wheat Of ancient Greece. Rome
and Egypt.
Together with these forms there
are to be seen such unusual forms
as Polish Wheat. which in spite Of
its name does not come from Po-
land. but from the mountainous
regions of Spain; Alaska Wheat
which is of the type known as the
Miracle Wheat" or "Seven-headed
wheat of Egypt; and Club Wheat
grown in Chile and in our Rocky
Mountains.
1.-THE Durum Wheat from Russia,
which furnishes flour for maca-
roni and pastes looks much like
long bristle barley. The small
bristly Turkey Wheat has become
one of our leading hard winter
wheats of the United States. Will
helmina, a north European soft
wheat may be seen together with
the chief American types. The
hard spring wheats of the nortn-
western great plains region of the
United States and Canada are rep
resented by Marquis, Red Fife. ana
Kitchener varieties. Particularly
remarkable is q huge-eared wheat
called Dicklow, grown under lrr1-
CATION in Idaho.
"Adioining the wheats at the
museum may be seen some of the
main kinds of barley. Ordinarily
the most bristly of the grams
among these is perfectly bald va
rietv. which is grown for hay ana
NAV survive, as a fodder. long al
for cultivation of the others be-
comes obsolete with the cessation
of Matchmaking.
There has also been added an
interesting case of wild grasses,
ranging from Alaska and Canadian
fodder grasses to the Silver Pam
mas Grass of South America ana
Natal Grass. This South African
grass now helps TO impart roseate
hue to the plains OF the sandy Pc
ninsula Of Florida.