Page:Wheat by Dahlgren, B. E..djvu/10

2 to coincide approximately with the location of a probable early center of dispersion of the human race in the old world. This is generally placed in central Asia, perhaps somewhat to the westward, about the region of eastern Turkestan where climatic conditions in the time of primitive man are likely to have been more favorable than they are now.

Some primitive wheats are still grown to an extent in Southern Europe. These are Einkorn, Emmer and Spelt. They are stamped as primitive by certain characteristics which they share with the wild grasses of the genus Triticum (an old Latin name for wheat) to which they belong. Like these they have a fragile, articulated head which breaks into segments on threshing, and their mature grain refuses to separate readily from its envelopes. In the other cultivated wheats the axis of the head is stout and not articulated, resisting breakage, while the ripe grain comes away easily and clean.

In the illustration, Nos. 1, 2, and 3 represent wild grasses related to wheat. Nos. 4, 5, and 6 are the primitive cultivated wheats.

No. 4. Einkorn, one-grained wheat, is so called because it has a single seed in each division (little spike or "spikelet") of the head. It yields a scanty crop but will grow in stony ground and is still cultivated to a small extent in mountainous South European regions—notably in Spain. It has been found in the remains of the lake dwellers of the stone age. The wild form still grows in Southeastern Europe—e. g. in Serbia.

No. 5. Emmer, also known as starch wheat or two-grained spelt, is another bristly or awned form with a flattened head. It exists in many varieties. It was cultivated by the ancient Babylonians, Egyptians,