Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/545

* WHEAT. 450 WHEAT. WHEAT (AS. hwwte, Goth. hwaUeis, OHG. U'ci~zi, (Jcr. Weizen, wheat, from AS. Iiirit, (ioth. hiceUs, OHG. wlz, Gei'. iccinH, white ; coniu'cted with Lilli. szvaityti, to brighten, OChurch iShiv. svitu, light, Av. spaCta, Skt. icetu, while, from ivit, to be white). The best known and the most vakialile of all the cereal crops. Under the name wheat are inihided nearly all the forms of the genus Triticiim producing .seeds, or grain used for human food. The original home of wheat is unknown, but the evidence at hand seems to indicate (hat it is probably a native of Western Asia. The cultivation of wheat antedates his- tory, as the most ancient monuments slujw that at the time of their erection it had already been domesticated. The ancient Egyptians and (ireelcs attril>uted its origin to some of their deities, among them to Demeter (Latin. Ceres), the god- dess of agriculture. It was cultivated as early as the Stone Age by the lake-dwellers of Switzer- land, and in China, where it was considered a direct gift of heaven, it was grown '2700 years before the Christian Era. It is one of the five species annually sown by the Chinese in a pub- lic ceremony. Wheat was not grown in America prior to Columbus's discovery. The hypothesis that cultivated wheat was a modification of Triticum ocattiin, a grass of the Mediterranean regions and of ^^'este^n Asia, led to some inter- esting studies of the subject by French and Eng- lish investigators from about 1840 to ISGO. While this wild grass underwent considerable change when cultivated for a series of years, and while the results of this work further show that blossoms of .-Egilojis can be fecundated with wheat pollen, there was neither evidence nor indication that this grass could ever have been developed into wheat. Although none of the various species of wheat known to agriculture are found in a wild state, some botanists consider that the species of one-grained wheat (Triticum monococ- cum) has a wild representative which occurs on the plains of Bceotia and in Servia. Wlieat was an important crop in ancient Egypt and Palestine, and it continiU'S to be a most iniportant crop in our own days in all the tem- perate parts of the globe. It is cultivated to a considerable extent in India, and vast areas in the United States and Canada are admirably adapted to it. Wide regions in South America are eqtially suitable, and wheat of the finest quality is produced in Australia. In the torrid zone wheat does not succeed except in elevated situations, and although extensively grown in some cases in warm climates, as iii California, Egypt, and India, the greater part of the world's supply is obtained in regions of cold winters. ^'lieat is a liardy plant, and when covered by snow will endure even qtute severe freezing. It is successfully cultivated from .30° to 60° north latittidc. and from the Tropic of Capricorn to 40° south latitude. Its cultivation does not extend so far north as that of barley, oats, or rye. It requires a mean temperature of at least 55° Fahr. for 3 or 4 months of the year. As it is an annual, its capacity of enduring the cold of winter is of importance only in connection Avith growing winter wheat, which is sown in the fall. The qturlity of the grain varies much in difTcrent -soils and climates, and particular varieties are also distinguished l>y differences in quality as well as by ex- VOL. XX.— 30. tcrnal characters. Wheat grown in com- paratively dry climates is superior in (jualily to that grown in humid regions, as is shown by the diflercnce in (piality of the hard spring wheats of the Dakotas, for instance, and the soft winter wheats jiroduccd on the Pacific coast. A prevalence of dry weather with bright sunshine from the time the plants begin to head until they are ripe is everywhere ot the greatest im- portance. The diflcrent varieties are classified by farmers as spring and winter wheats, bearded and beardless or bald varieties, soft and hard wheats, and also according to the color of the grain, as red, white, amber, etc. In consccpicnce of long cultivation in various climates and on dilferent soils, the varieties of wheat are very nu- merous, more so than in any other kind of grain. Is'cw varieties, the results of plant breeding and selection carried on by farmers, seedsmen, and the agricultural experiment stations, are con- tinually coming into notice. Botanists have classified the cultivated varie- ties of the genus Triticum into eight species and subspecies. The most important species, Triti- cum inilgare, comprises the common bread wheats, by far the most valuable and widely dis- tributed group, containing more varieties than all the other species put together. This species includes soft and hard winter wheats, hard spring wiieats. white wheats, and early wheats. The soft winter wheats are grown in the Eastern United States, Western and Northern Europe, Australia, Argentina, and in portions of Asia. The hard winter wiieats are produced in the Kocky Jlountains and the Mississippi River re- gions of the United States, in Southeastern Europe, and Western Asia. These wheats are usualh' grown on good black soils in regions of hot and dry summers. The hard spring wheats are distributed over the northern portion of the great plains in the United States, in Western Canada, Eastern Russia, and Western and South- ern Siberia. The white wheats are cultivated along the Pacific coast in both Xorth and South America, in Australia, and Western Asia. The early wheats occur in the Southern United States, Australia, India, and Japan. Only a few varieties are grown in the United States. The club or square-liead wheats are by some botanists named Triticum compactum, but they are generally considered only a subspecies. The heads of this groirp are generally short and fre- quently square. Club wheats are grown chiefiy along the Pacific coast, and in Turkestan, Abys- sinia, and in scattered districts of Europe. Tri- ticum turgidum, or poulard wheat, is a subspe- cies of Triticum vuUjarc, distributed in the iled- iterranean and the Black Sea regions. Some vari- eties of this group are used in making macaroni. These wheats are sometimes mixed with the bread wheats in the manufacture of flour. Triticum durum is similar to Triticum turgidum, and. like it. a subspecies of Triticum vulgare. They are the hardest-grained of all the wheats grown, and are popularly known as the durum or hard wheats. They are specially valuable for the manufacturfc of macaroni, for which purpose they are mostly used. They are cultivated in the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions, and to some extent in Jlexico, Chile, and Argentina. Triticum polonicuiu. or Polish wheat, is a dis- tinct species, similar in quality to Triticum