HOW THE BOTANIST DESCRIBES CEREALS AND GRASSES_The Circle of Knowledge: A Classified, Simplified, Visualized Book of Answers

The roots of most kinds of grasses are persistent; the stems are hollow

and knotty, and the leaves consist of sheaths and discs. Their flowers

are arranged either in spikes or panicles, and are essentially the same

in form as those of the herbs. In the interior there is an ovary, from

which project two pistils with feathery styles. Close to the ovary are

three stamens, with very long filaments and large anthers. These

internal organs are generally surrounded by two tender bracts called the

_paleæ_, and two harder outer bracts forming the _glumes_. In the

grasses also self-fertilization does not take place, the wind here

taking the place of the insects. Consequently the anthers are suspended

from long filaments, and contain a quantity of pollen. As the grasses do

not need to attract insects, their flowers are small with little color,

and have no scent; nor do they secrete honey. The fruit is enclosed in a

husk.

=Alfalfa= (_Medicago sativa_) is a cultivated hay and pasture plant,

yielding per annum, without reseeding, three to six or more cuttings of

hay, averaging a ton each and often much more, for an indefinite period.

It is the richest forage plant known, and while old in history is

comparatively new to the agriculture of North America.

Alfalfa thrives on all soils except those too wet or having too much

acidity. The former calls for drainage and the latter demands lime.

Besides its abundance of rich forage, the leaves of which approximate

the value of wheat bran in animal rations, it is highly prized as a soil

improver, as it restores and enriches the land in which it grows, and

improves extraordinarily the physical character of the soil. Its roots

reaching to great depths, make it drought-resistant; they also gather

much nitrogen from the air, and it yields assuredly whether the season

be wet or dry. It has been demonstrated the greatest fertilizing and

soil renovating plant known to agriculture.

For hay it is cut whenever the first blossoms appear or when sprouts for

a new growth from the root crowns are discovered, which in some regions

is every month in the year. It is relished by all live stock, and is

particularly valuable in dairy husbandry, affording at lowest cost

important ingredients of the well balanced feeding ration. As pasturage

it is excellent for hogs and horses, but ruminants, such as cattle and

sheep are not safely grazed upon it, owing to its liability to cause

bloat, which if not promptly treated may bring speedy death.

Alfalfa requires a carefully prepared seedbed, with a thoroughly fine,

smooth surface, as the seeds are small. From fifteen to twenty pounds of

seed per acre are generally sown, although often much more, or less,

either with drills or broadcast, preferably in early fall and without a

nurse crop. Where the winters are long or severe from two to ten tons of

hay per acre in a season, and from two to seven bushels of seed.

=Blue-Grass= (_Poa pratensis_), frequently designated Kentucky Blue

Grass, is a perennial, and the most highly prized pasture grass, but is

not a profitable hay plant. Its growth has a wider range than timothy.

It is sown in autumn or spring, the former being preferable, as it can

endure cold better than heat, and thrives rather best when partially

shaded. One approved way is to sow the seed on snow, where the ground is

free from weeds. It is broadcasted at the rate of about one bushel of

seed in the chaff to the acre. Blue-grass is an extremely aggressive and

persistent plant voluntarily spreading among and displacing others where

it has not been sown. Its taking possession of and thriving on land that

has not been cultivated is not uncommon. The seed weighs fourteen pounds

to the bushel.

ENGLISH BLUE-GRASS or Meadow Fescue (_Fescuta elatior_) is a valuable

and hardy grass either for mowing or pasture. It thrives on soils not

too dry, and being long lived, is especially valuable for permanent

pastures. It is sown either in the spring or fall, by drilling or

broadcasting from one to three pecks per acre if for seed, and three

pecks to an acre if for pasture. It is harvested and handled much the

same as wheat. Kansas produces nearly seventy-five per cent of the seed

raised in America and ninety per cent of the total for the United States

is exported, Germany being the largest taker. This grass is very

nutritious and grazing animals are fond of it. A bushel of seed weighs

twenty-two pounds, and the yield of seed per acre is from five to

fifteen bushels.

=Brome-grass= (_Bromus inermis_) is a vigorous, hardy perennial pasture

and hay plant, with strong, creeping rootstocks, and is valuable for dry

regions. It is not adapted to a rotation, as its sod becomes too matted

and tough for comfortable cultivation. Owing to this tendency, after

three or four years of hay cropping its better use is for pasture. It

yields luxuriantly, is rich in flesh-forming elements, and much relished

by farm animals. It is sown broadcast, in spring or fall, eighteen to

twenty pounds of seed to the acre. The seed is chaffy and weighs but

fourteen pounds per bushel.

=Barley= is grown chiefly in the states of Minnesota, California,

Wisconsin, North and South Dakota, in the order named, these states

raising seventy-five per cent of the output grown in the United States.

It is used as food for live stock, and as an article of commerce is in

demand principally for the making of malt in brewing beer, but in

California and other western states, where Indian corn does not

flourish, barley is used as a substitute grain for horses and mules.

About two bushels to the acre are sown in the spring, with a drill or a

broadcast seeder. It is admirably adapted as a nurse crop, as it stands

up well and does not shade the ground so much as many other plants.

Barley for malting should be cut before fully ripe and put in

well-capped shocks to cure; the price paid is largely governed by the

color acquired in curing, which should be bright. A bushel weighs

forty-eight pounds, and the yield is from twenty-five to forty bushels

per acre.

=Buckwheat= (_Fagopyrum esculentum_) is a grain of minor importance, its

flour being used as human food, mostly in the form of griddle cakes. The

plant is esteemed for plowing under in summer, to supply humus, and its

blossoms for the honey bee. Most of it is grown in New York and

Pennsylvania, and it does well in soils too poor for most other crops.

It is sensitive to frost, and used as a sort of catch crop, sown

generally about the beginning of July, broadcast. Forty bushels,

weighing forty-eight pounds per bushel, is a maximum yield.

=Clover= (_Trifolium pratense_). In the states east of the Missouri

river _red clover_ is highly esteemed. It has much the same qualities as

alfalfa, except it is a biennial, enduring but two years without

re-seeding and at best gives two cuttings of hay per year, aggregating

two to three tons. It is from the second cutting that seed is usually

saved. Four quarts of seed is a common quantity to sow per acre. Red

clover makes excellent hay, except for horses. Its seed, like that of

alfalfa, weighs sixty pounds per bushel, and its yield is from one to

five bushels per acre.

WHITE CLOVER (_Trifolium repens_) is a very useful pasture and honey

plant, but is not used for hay. It spreads rapidly, and is widely used

for sowing with other pasture grasses.

ALSIKE CLOVER (_Trifolium hybridum_) is largely sown on lands not well

adapted to red clover, where land is either too wet or too dry for the

latter, and it does not require so sweet a soil.

[Illustration: =THE COSTLIEST EARS OF CORN IN THE WORLD=

The champion ten ears of corn shown in the illustration average ten and

one-half inches in length and seven and three-quarters in circumference,

each ear carrying twenty rows of kernels, the depth of the kernels being

three fourths of an inch, and the average weight of each ear was twenty

ounces. They were sold at the rate of $2,345 per bushel or $335 for the

ten ears. The champion single ear of corn was sold at the Omaha National

Corn Show for $85.]

=Corn= (_Zea mays_). Indian corn, or maize is a product native to

America, an annual, and is the most important member of the grass

family. It is America’s foremost cereal, with a wider adaptability than

any other, and is grown in every state and territory. The temperate

climate of the Central States is most favorable to it, and Illinois,

Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Indiana, Kansas and Ohio are the leading

states in its planting. The bulk of the world’s production of maize is

grown in this country, although it is an important crop in Hungary,

Italy, Egypt, South Africa, and other parts of the world.

ECONOMIC USES.--Corn is of primary importance as a food for live stock,

enormous quantities being used to fatten cattle and swine.

The manufacture of starch and other products from corn is an industry of

increasing magnitude. The chief starch derivatives are dextrine and

glucose or grape sugar (used in brewing beer and as a substitute for

true sugar).

Corn oil may be called a by-product in starch manufacture, yet the

annual value of corn oil is greater than that of cornstarch produced in

the United States. It is used in soap and paints. Vulcanized by heating

with sulphur, it forms a widely used adulterant and substitute for

rubber.

Among the dozens of useful products made from corn are corn meal, corn

grits, hominy, breakfast foods, beer, whisky, alcohol, cologne spirits,

cornstarch, dextrine, glucose, grape sugar, corn sirup, corn oil, soap,

rubber substitute and cattle foods.

A special variety of corn is raised to make cob pipes. Compressed corn

pith is packed between the double hulls of warships. Corn husks are used

in mattresses and paper is made in very limited amount from the leaves

and stalks. Large amounts of popcorn, plain and candied, are eaten in

the United States.

METHODS OF CULTIVATION.--Owing to its widespread growing, the methods of

corn culture vary greatly, and no rigid rules can be laid down for all

conditions. For maximum results the cornfield must be rich in humus, its

soil finely pulverized, mellow and well drained. Many successful growers

in the so-called corn states find these conditions best assured by

plowing deeply in the fall, turning under liberal quantities of organic

matter such as stable and barnyard manure and leaving the subsoil

upturned to benefit from the action of the elements during winter,

following with the disk harrow or other like implement in the spring.

Planting is done when the soil is thoroughly warmed and when danger of

frost is past.

There are two methods of planting commonly practiced, one by drilling or

dropping the seed (three or four grains) in hills with a machine drawn

by horses and completing two rows at once. The other is planting with an

implement known as a lister, dropping and covering one grain in a place

in the bottom of a furrow, at intervals of eight to twelve inches. The

latter method is quite extensively followed in the more western of the

corn states, such as Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska. The lister is a plow

and planter combined, with moldboards at once turning the soil to the

right and left, opening a furrow, dropping and covering the seed at the

same time, economizing labor, time and expense. Corn is planted about

two inches deep, and if in hills or rows generally three and one-half

feet apart each way. A bushel of fifty-six pounds of seed suffices for

planting nearly eight acres. For soiling, forage or ensiling it is

planted more thickly.

Cultivation, with horse-drawn cultivators, cleaning one row at a time,

and by some implements two rows, repeated three or four times in a

season, is given to kill weeds, aid in the retention of moisture, and

aerate the soil. This begins in many instances before the plants appear,

and often in the earlier stages is done with a harrow and later by using

the cultivator, upon which the operator usually rides.

HARVESTING, done after the grains have become hardened is by cutting the

stalks from the hills where grown, by hand or machinery, and standing

them in large shocks to be husked later, or, husking the ears directly

from the stalks without cutting or shocking. No machine equal to human

hands has yet been invented for husking corn. The yield ranges from

twenty-five to one hundred bushels of sixty pounds, shelled, or seventy

pounds unshelled, per acre. The stalks and husks, whether harvested or

not are used as food for live stock, and somewhat in manufactures.

=Emmer.= See Spelt.

=Johnson Grass= (_Sorghum halapense_) is a coarse perennial, most

extensively grown in the South or the Gulf States, for hay. It spreads

so persistently and is so difficult to eradicate that its growing is

frowned upon by most of the best authorities. One bushel of seed, or

thirty-five pounds per acre is about the quantity sown. It is propagated

by roots also. Never plant Johnson grass with the expectation of

destroying it.

=Millet= (_Panicum miliaceum_) is a native of the East Indies, and is

about three feet high; each panicle contains five to six hundred grains.

Hungarian grass is one of the most common grown for hay and grain. In

the United States they are principally grown for forage. It is a general

rule to sow after corn planting has been done but they may be safely

sown considerably later, as a catch crop when the regular hay crop is

short or a probable failure. Millets are excellent for ensilage, and a

succession of cuttings for that purpose or for soiling can be easily

secured by sowing at intervals of two or three weeks from early May to

late July. The seed is sown broadcast or with grain drills, mostly

broadcast, at the rate of two to three pecks per acre, for hay and

somewhat less for seed. The hay is harvested and handled after the

manner of other hay crops, and the seed crop as that of other small

grains. Well drained, rich, warm, loam soils are preferable for millet,

and it does not prosper on thin or poor land. A crop of millet leaves

the soil where it grew in a delightful condition of tilth. Its yield of

seed is from twenty to forty bushels per acre.

=Oats= (_Avena sativa_) have a broad panicle; the individual ears are

two-rowed, with and without beards. Another much-cultivated species are

the bearded oats (_A. orientalis_). The greater portion of the oats crop

of the United States is grown in the north central states, more than

one-half in the six states of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin,

Nebraska and Ohio, ranking in order named. Russia is also a large

producer and it is cultivated throughout the temperate parts of the

civilized world. The yield per acre ranges from twenty-five to one

hundred bushels, weighing thirty-two pounds. Oats thrives best in cool

weather with abundant moisture, and in the principal oats territory

should be sown as early as possible in the spring--earlier than any

other spring grain. The ground for oats should be plowed, but it is not

uncommon to merely disk harrow the land before sowing. If the latter,

about four bushels is sown to the acre, broadcast or drilled, but on

well prepared ground ten to twelve pecks of clean, graded seed is

sufficient. In the main the oats crop is harvested, stacked and threshed

as other small grains.

Oats is used chiefly for horse feed, and in lesser amounts for making

oatmeal and breakfast foods.

The manufacture of oatmeal is of relatively small importance since the

more nourishing products of wheat are increasingly used.

=Orchard Grass= (_Dactylis glomerata_) is a hardy, nutritious perennial,

growing two to five feet high, that does well in either shade or

sunshine. It flourishes in nearly every state between the Mississippi

River and the Rocky Mountains, and is profitably grown in all the states

east of the Mississippi River lying between thirty-five degrees and

forty-seven degrees north latitude, but is partial to a rich soil. Two

to three bushels of seed are sown to the acre, from about the middle of

March to the middle of April. It provides either hay or pasturage, and

is prized for the latter, as “it comes early and stays late.”

=Rape= (_Brassica napus_) is a valuable farm crop, supplies an abundance

of succulent green food in a short time, for soiling or pasture,

especially for sheep and swine, being ready to use ordinarily six weeks

after sowing, and is prized chiefly as a catch crop. Three pounds of

seed per acre sown in rows thirty inches apart is customary, and the

favorite is the Dwarf Essex.

=Redtop=, or Herd’s Grass (_Agrostis alba_) is a meadow grass and also

one of the best pasture plants. It prospers on land where blue-grass,

timothy and clover are not thrifty. It is most at home in a moist soil,

flourishing in swampy places unfit for almost any other useful grass,

and it also has ability to withstand severe drought. On thin soil it

makes excellent pasture, but yields lightly of hay. It may be sown in

the fall or spring, alone, or with a nurse crop. For meadow, it is best

sown alone, using one bushel of seed in the chaff, or half as much if

winnowed. A bushel of recleaned seed weighs thirty-five pounds.

=Rice= (_Oryza sativa_) is grown in nearly all the warmer countries of

the earth, and forms the daily food of many millions of people. It is

estimated that one-third of the people of the world live principally on

rice.

There are two general varieties--the mountain rice and the marsh rice,

the latter being the most cultivated. It is usually grown in swampy land

or else on irrigated fields. In most countries rice is grown in the most

primitive fashion. Immense irrigating plants and modern agricultural

machinery make possible the large production in parts of the United

States.

It is the chief crop in southeastern Asia, from India through

Indo-China, a great part of China, southern Japan and many islands of

the Pacific. Rice of excellent quality is raised in Texas, Louisiana and

South Carolina, and an amount about equal to the production of this

country is imported from eastern Asia.

ECONOMIC USES.--Rough rice or paddy (rice in the hull) is first hulled

by machinery and then the grains are polished or whitened. The rice

polish, which consists of the powdered outer coats, is a very nourishing

cattle food. Saké, the national drink of Japan, is a weak alcoholic

liquor brewed from rice. Rice straw is of enormous use in Asia, being

employed for hundreds of purposes, some of them as unexpected as the

making of bags, ropes and sandals. Rough rice and clean rice are the

common commercial articles.

=Rye= (_Secale cereale_) is cultivated in all northern countries. The

stalk grows up to six feet, and the ears are double-rowed with a long

beard. The grain is dark green and very mealy, and furnishes a good

bread. It is cultivated in the cold climates of northern Europe,

especially in Russia. Only small amounts are grown in the United States.

The leading rye states, in order of yields, are Pennsylvania, Michigan,

Wisconsin, New York and Minnesota, which together raised nearly

two-thirds of the crop.

It is usually sown at the same time as winter wheat, or earlier, one and

a half to two bushels of seed per acre, and its habits and treatment are

essentially the same. Its yield per acre is from twenty to fifty

bushels, weighing fifty-six pounds. It is noted for its ability to

thrive and yield fairly on soils too poor for the more important

cereals. Rye is used for breadmaking, live stock food, and in the

manufacture of malt and alcoholic beverages. It is the chief breadstuff

in parts of Russia, Scandinavia and Germany. It also furnishes valuable

pasturage late in the fall and early spring, for which it is extensively

sown where early tame grasses do not prosper. Its straw is in

considerable demand for various uses, such as the making of paper,

filling horse collars, for packing and otherwise.

=Sugar-Cane= (_Saccharum officinarium_), a tree-like grass, grows nine

to fifteen feet high, and contains in its pith a sweet sap, from which

our raw sugar is obtained. The sugar-cane is a native of the East

Indies, but it is now grown in India, Cuba, Hawaii, Java, Brazil,

Mauritius, Louisiana and other parts of the tropics and subtropics.

India’s large production is consumed locally and enters little into

export trade. Louisiana produces all made in the United States, except

ten thousand to fifteen thousand tons, annually, from Texas. Cane for

molasses and sirup is grown more or less in all of the Gulf Coast

states.

METHOD OF CULTIVATION.--It requires a fertile soil, rich in humus. Sandy

and clay loams are both good, but alluvial soils are best. In preparing

for sugar cane the soil is thrown up by plows in beds six to seven feet

wide. In planting, furrows are opened, and in these the cane stalks,

one, two or three are laid side by side, covering by plows. It is

cultivated largely after the manner of corn, care being taken to leave

the rows well ridged up by the last cultivation, to facilitate drainage.

The quantity of cane required for planting an acre ranges from four to

six tons. Two and sometimes three crops or cuttings are had from one

planting. Yields of forty to forty-five tons of stripped cane per acre

are not uncommon, although half those quantities are considered

creditable averages for large plantations.

MANUFACTURE.--After harvesting, sugar cane is carried (usually by rail)

promptly to the mill, where the juice is pressed out. Modern mills have

nine rollers, arranged in three sets. The trash, or bagasse, is almost

dry when it leaves the last rollers and is used as fuel to run the mill.

The juice is boiled down, generally in vacuum pans heated by steam, and

the sugar crystals which form are separated from the molasses in

centrifugals.

PRODUCTS.--Raw cane sugar, brown to yellowish in color, produced by

evaporation of the juice in open pans (muscovados), and crystals from

vacuum pans are both important commercially. White sugar, granulated,

loaf and pulverized, as commonly sold, is more nearly chemically pure

than most other articles of commerce. Molasses, from cane juice boiled

in open pans, is palatable for human food, and, like all cane molasses,

is fermented and distilled to make rum.

=Sorghum= is a cultivated grass of many varieties (_Panicum_, _Setaria_,

_Andropogon_, etc.) Guinea corn, kaffir corn, broom corn and other names

are employed to distinguish the different kinds. They may, however, be

divided into two classes: the _saccharine_ or sweet sorghums and the

_non-saccharine_. The sweet sorghums are grown for making sirup, but

principally for forage and hay, and yield heavily, from five to fifteen

tons per acre. The seed being somewhat bitter is not entirely relished

by animals, but it finds a ready market for seeding purposes. For hay

about a bushel of seed is sown to the acre, and for fodder and seed

about ten pounds per acre is planted in rows and cultivated.

KAFFIR CORN is by far the most valuable of the non-saccharine sorghums.

Its grain, of which it yields from thirty to sixty bushels per acre, has

a feeding value approximating that of Indian corn, and its forage after

the seed heads have been removed is valuable feed for live stock.

MILO is one of the non-saccharine sorghums especially adapted to dry

regions, and the most successful summer grain crop for the southern half

of the plains country. It does not rank with the sweet sorghums and

Kaffir corn as forage, being principally valued for its seed, which

makes a satisfactory substitute for Indian corn.

JERUSALEM CORN is also a non-saccharine sorghum. It is cultivated mostly

in the cooler climates of the dry regions. It will mature in a short

season, and is quite productive of seed, but its fodder yield is light.

BROOM-CORN, a non-saccharine sorghum, is grown only for its brush for

making brooms. It is a hardy plant, withstanding dry weather well, and

is grown chiefly in Oklahoma, Illinois and Kansas. There are two

varieties--the Standard and Dwarf, the former growing taller and

producing the longer brush.

In adaptability sorghums cover about as wide a range of soils and

climate as corn, and are noted for their drought-resisting powers.

Kaffir corn is especially adapted to hot, dry and semi-arid portions of

the West, where corn is uncertain, and there it is regarded with

increasing appreciation.

In some places the juice of sorghum is boiled down to make sirup or

sugar. Common brooms are made of the tops of the Broom-corn.

=Spelt= (_Triticum Spelta_) is chiefly cultivated in south Germany, but

is also grown in a small way in some of our northwestern states. It is

sown in both fall and spring, dealt with the same as other wheats, and

some authorities recommend it as a very hardy drought-resistant grain

for semi-arid regions. About seven pecks of seed are sown to the acre,

and the yield is from twenty-five to sixty bushels per acre. The small

ears are arranged on a brittle stalk, and consist of three or four

blooms, of which, as a rule, only two are fruitful. Spelt is, generally,

not bearded. The corn furnishes a white bread. When unripe, it is

manufactured into a soup, which is highly esteemed.

=Timothy= (_Phleum pratense_) is a popular and most widely used hay

plant in America, and also extensively seeded with other grasses for

pasture, prospering best in moist loams. It yields the year following

its sowing, grows from one and a half to four feet high, and twelve to

fifteen pounds of seed are sown per acre. The chief timothy region is

the northern half of the United States, east of the 100th meridian,

where it is usually sown in the fall with winter wheat, or in the spring

with oats. Forty-five pounds of seed make a bushel.

=Wheat= (_Triticum vulgare_), does not grow as high as the rye, but has

a thicker stalk and thicker ears, which are composed of several small

ears. In each little ear there are generally four seeds. There are, as a

rule, no beards; but, on the other hand, there is often a short spur at

the top of the ears. It grows in temperate climates, the largest crops

being raised in United States (especially in Minnesota, North Dakota,

Ohio, South Dakota and Kansas); Central Europe (Russia, France,

Austria-Hungary and Italy); India, Argentina, Canada and Australia. The

area of wheat production is steadily increasing and wheat raising has

become an important industry in newly developed countries, such as parts

of British America, West Australia and Manchuria.

CULTIVATION.--The soil conditions in the Middle West are most favorable

for giving quality. Its rich prairies contain large amounts of decaying

vegetable matter, and because of the lime and alkaline substances in

these soils, the elements of plant food are readily available,

particularly the nitrogen in the soil, that contributes so largely to

the glutinous character of the wheat.

Wheat is more than ordinarily adapted to machine farming and the

invention of the successful reaper was largely responsible for the rapid

increase of wheat acreage in America. In many parts of the wheat region

immense plows drawn by traction engines and turning six to twelve and

more furrows are employed. In other portions where operations are large

many fields are plowed only once in two or three years. For various

reasons, among which may be mentioned the control of weeds and the

conserving of moisture in the soil, early plowing for winter wheat is

preferable, and where the rainfall is scant very satisfactory conditions

are obtained by stirring the surface soil with disc harrows only.

The average quantity of seed sown per acre is between four and five

pecks, varying with the quality, the locality, method and time of

seeding and the whim of the sower. The yield ranges from ten to sixty

bushels per acre, the bushel weighing sixty pounds.

Wheat is mostly sown with drills, the old method of sowing broadcast

having been mostly abandoned. By drilling a more even distribution and

covering of the seed, and a better stand and yield of grain may be

confidently expected.

In harvesting small areas the self-binding reaping machine is popular.

This cuts the standing grain and binds it in sheaves of convenient size

which are stood in shocks of three or four dozen bundles each, whence it

is either threshed direct or put in stacks for threshing at a more

convenient season. On larger areas and especially where the wheat is

quite ripe, the header is commonly and widely used. This clips off the

heads of grain, and elevates them into large receptacles called barges,

set on wagons, leaving the straw standing. Usually when headed the grain

is put directly into stacks, and threshed at convenience.

ECONOMIC PRODUCTS.--Its commercial varieties, hard, soft, red, white,

etc., differ in percentage of starch and gluten.

The whole grain is ground into graham flour, made into breakfast foods

and used in brewing.

From parts of the grain are prepared whole wheat flour, white flour,

middlings, bran, wheat grits, wheat starch, macaroni, spaghetti, etc.

Wheatflour may be said to be the standard foodstuff of modern civilized

man.

Macaroni is made from special varieties of hard, glutinous wheat.

Wheat straw is plaited into braids (Leghorn, etc.) for hat making, and

is used like the straw from other grains for packing material and as

bedding for animals.

Straw braids come largely from Italy, China and Japan.

The principal countries exporting wheat are United States, Russia,

Argentina, Canada, Roumania, India and Australia.

_II. KITCHEN VEGETABLES_

Among the commercial products of the world, vegetables are a most

important item, and their value as foodstuffs needs no emphasizing.

The inhabitants of the world could subsist without animal-flesh,

could scarcely subsist entirely on cereals, but they most certainly

could not subsist without vegetables. Practically every nation,

savage and civilized alike, cultivates a few plants for use as

vegetables. The vegetables we know and prize most are one and all

the result of long cultivation, the origin of most being lost in

antiquity. The world has been ransacked, and for the vegetables

cultivated in America nearly every country under the sun has been

laid under contribution.

=Asparagus= (_Asparagus officinalis_). The common Asparagus is a native

of Great Britain, Russia and Poland. It is one of the oldest as well as

one of the most delicious of our garden vegetables. It was cultivated in

the time of Cato the Elder, 200 B. C.; and Pliny mentions a sort that

grew in his time near Ravenna, of which three heads would weigh a pound.

As many of our best gardeners contend, adaptation of soil, together with

thorough cultivation, alone explains the difference in this vegetable,

as offered in our markets or seen in our gardens.

=Bean= (_Phaseolus vulgaris_) is cultivated in many countries for the

sake of its seed and husks. By cultivation many varieties have been

produced, of which the following are the best known: BROAD BEAN, an

important article of food in Europe and western Asia, and valuable

forage plant, grown in gardens and as a field crop. All species of the

bean have a very high food value; are relatively cheap in price, but

much less easily digested than cereals. LIMA BEAN, widely cultivated in

tropical Africa, sparingly in temperate regions. Production in the

United States most extensive in California. NAVY or KIDNEY BEAN,

extensively grown in the United States, over one hundred and fifty

varieties of which are in cultivation as a garden vegetable, “string

beans,” fodder and for food. The closely related “frijole” is

universally grown in Mexico and Spanish American countries where it

ranks next to maize as a staple food. SOY BEAN, the common bean of China

and Japan is grown in immense quantities. Various preparations form a

part of the daily food. It is now grown in Europe and southern and

southwestern United States as forage and soiling crop.

[Illustration: =NEWEST VEGETABLES GROWN IN AMERICAN GARDENS=

=UDO=--This fine salad vegetable comes from Japan, is similar to

asparagus, and much easier to grow. It has a fresh taste like lettuce

with an agreeable flavor. There are numerous ways of serving it, but it

is possibly best simply boiled and seasoned like asparagus. It will grow

in any soil suitable for asparagus.]

[Illustration: =THE CHAYOTE=, or Vegetable Pear, is large, green and

pear-shaped, with a texture somewhat like a squash, and a flavor more

delicate than a cucumber. It is grown on lowlands near the coast, in a

moderately warm climate. Its keeping qualities are remarkable, making it

an excellent winter vegetable. Both roots and stalks are also edible.]

[Illustration: =THE BUR ARTICHOKE=, long imported from France, may now

be successfully grown in this country. It is used like the cauliflower

in many ways but commands a higher price. The scalelike leaves make a

delicious salad when pulled apart after boiling, and may be served on

lettuce with either mayonnaise or French dressing.]

[Illustration: =THE PETSAI=, or Odorless Cabbage, is much superior to

the ordinary cabbage, and is wholly without disagreeable odor. It does

not closely resemble cabbage in appearance; it is rather tall than

squatty, and the leaves cluster around the stalk compactly. It requires

cultivation similar to cabbage but is not transplanted. It is served

after the fashion of cabbage.]

=Brussels Sprouts=, or Bud-bearing Cabbage (_B. oleracea bullata minor_)

originated in Belgium, and has been cultivated around Brussels from time

immemorial, although it is only within the last fifty years that it has

become generally known in this country. It is so named on account of its

peculiar habit, producing a bud-like cluster of leaves in the axil of

each leaf from the base to the top of the stem. These buds or sprouts

are the parts of the plant that are eaten, and are highly esteemed for

their delicate flavor and wholesome quality. Brussels sprouts is one of

the hardiest of green winter vegetables. As a rule, the shorter-stemmed

strains have the largest and most compact sprouts, and are consequently

the most favored. As regards cultivation, the plant, like all of the

cabbage tribe, requires deep, rich soil to bring it to fullest

perfection.

=Cabbage= (_Brassica oleraceæ_) is found in a wild state in various

parts of Europe and in southern England, always on maritime cliffs. It

is a biennial, with fleshy lobed leaves covered with a glaucous bloom;

altogether so different in form and appearance from the cabbage of our

gardens that few would believe it could possibly have been the parent of

so varied a progeny as are comprised in the Savoy, Brussels Sprouts,

Cauliflower, Broccoli and other numerous varieties. Over one hundred

fifty varieties are enumerated. The common or cultivated cabbage is well

known, and from a very early period has been a favorite culinary

vegetable in almost daily use throughout the civilized world.

=Carrot= (_Daucus_) of which there are about twenty species are mostly

natives of the Mediterranean countries. The common carrot is a biennial

plant and is universally cultivated for the sake of its root. In all

varieties of the wild plant this is slender, woody and of a very strong

flavor; and that of the cultivated variety is much thicker and more

fleshy, much milder in its flavor and qualities. Its color is generally

red, but sometimes orange or yellowish white.

=Cauliflower= (_B. oleracea botrytis cauliflora_) is of great antiquity,

but its origin is unknown, although it is usually ascribed to Italy. To

the English and Dutch gardeners we are chiefly indebted for the

perfection it has attained. Heads of immense size are now grown for the

market. It is by no means uncommon to see a head perfectly sound and

smooth, fully ten inches in diameter, and, contrary to the usual rule,

size is not obtained at the expense of quality, the larger, if differing

at all, being more tender and delicious. The varieties of the

Cauliflower are numerous.

=Celery= (_Apium graveolens_). The plant is hardy, and is largely

cultivated in the United States, Canada and Europe. In cultivation,

however, abundant nutrition has greatly mollified its properties, and

two principal forms have arisen. The first sort is the common celery,

where the familiar long blanched succulent stalks are produced by

transplanting the seedlings into richly manured trenches, which are

filled up as the plants grow, and finally raised into ridges over which

little more than the tops of the leaves appear; and a supply is thus

insured throughout the whole winter. The other form is the turnip-rooted

celery, or celeriac.

=Cucumber= (_Cucumis sativus_). The common cucumber is distinguished by

heart-shaped leaves, which are rough with hairs approaching to bristles,

and oblong fruit. It is a native of the middle and south of Asia, and

has been cultivated from the earliest times. Its fruit forms an

important article of food in its native regions, the south of Europe,

etc., and an esteemed delicacy in colder countries, where it is

produced by the aid of artificial heat. Many varieties are in

cultivation, with fruit from four inches to two feet long, rough,

smooth, etc.

VEGETABLE MARROW (_Cucurbita ovifera_) is closely allied to the

cucumber, and is supposed to have been originally brought from Persia.

Like the cucumber it is a tender annual, but succeeds out of doors in

summer in this country.

Many other members of the cucumber family are cultivated as esculents,

notably in the warmer parts of the world. Of these the chief are

Pumpkins, Melon Pumpkin, Water Melon, Chocho, Bottle Gourd, Squash.

=Egg-plant= (_Solanum melongena_). The egg-like fruit known as

egg-apple, etc., is a favorite article of food in the East Indies, and

has thence been introduced to most warm countries. It varies in size

from that of a hen’s egg to that of a swan’s egg, in color from white or

yellow to violet. Egg-plants are much grown in the United States, where

“Jew’s-apple” is one of the names for the fruit.

=Kale=, or Borecole (_B. oleracea acephala_) is distinguished by its

leaves being beautifully cut and curled, of a green or purple color, or

variegated with red, green, and yellow, never closing so as to form a

heart, nor producing edible flower heads like a Cauliflower. Its leaves

and tender shoots are not only edible but form one of the most useful

green vegetables.

=Lentils= (_Ervum Lens_), a slender plant supposed to be native of

Western Asia, Greece and Italy. The Lentil was introduced into Egypt as

a cultivated plant at an early date, and from this center spread east

and west. It is a weak, straggling plant, rarely exceeding eighteen

inches high, often much more dwarfed, having pinnate leaves terminating

in tendrils. The flowers are white, lilac, or pale blue, small and

formed like those of a pea. There are three varieties of lentil

recognized in the countries in which it is cultivated: the small brown,

which is the lightest flavored and the best esteemed for soups and

haricots; the yellow variety, which is slightly larger; and the lentil

of Provence, France, which has seeds as large as a small pea, but is

better appreciated as fodder for cattle than for food for man.

=Lettuce= (_Lactuca sativa_). The garden lettuce is supposed to be a

native of the East Indies, but is not known to exist anywhere in a wild

state, and from remote antiquity has been cultivated as an esculent and

particularly as a salad. It has a leafy stem, oblong leaves, a

spreading, flat-topped panicle, with yellow flowers, and a fruit without

margin. It is now generally cultivated in all parts of the world where

the climate admits of it.

=Melon= (_Cucumis melo_), a plant of the same genus with the cucumber,

much cultivated for its fruit. The melon is an annual, with trailing or

climbing stems, lateral tendrils, rounded, angular leaves, small, yellow

flowers and large round or somewhat ovate fruit. The varieties in

cultivation are very numerous, some of them distinguished by a thick and

warty rind, some by a rind cracked in a net-like manner, some by ribs

and furrows, some by a perfectly smooth and thin rind; they differ also

in the color of the flesh of the fruit, which is green, red, yellow,

etc.; and in the size of the fruit, which varies from three or four

inches to a foot or more in diameter. They are widely cultivated in the

United States, ranking fifth in acreage among vegetables. New Jersey

leads in production, growing about one-seventh of entire crop.

Cultivation under irrigation is highly developed in Colorado. They are

often called cantaloupe in the markets.

=Mushroom.= See Cryptogams.

=Okra= or Gumbo (_Hibiscus esculentus_) is a generally used food plant

most commonly employed in soups in the East and West Indies and also in

the southern United States. It was anciently grown in tropical Africa

and Egypt, and is now diffused in tropical countries and in the

southern United States.

=Onion= (_Allium Cepa_) is extensively cultivated throughout the world,

and is grown in every state in the United States, New York and Ohio

leading in production. Bermuda and Spanish varieties are now grown in

California. It was cultivated by the ancient Egyptians; also by the

Greeks and Romans. Many other important vegetables are allied to the

onion, viz.: Leek, Shallot, Onion, Chives and Garlic. All of these are

highly esteemed in cookery.

=Parsnip= (_Pastinaca_), an annual, biennial, or perennial herb, with

carrot-like, often fleshy root and pinnate leaves. The parsnip has long

been cultivated for the sake of its root, which in cultivation has

greatly increased in size and become more fleshy. The flavor is disliked

by some, as well as the too great sweetness, but highly relished by

others; and the root of the parsnip is more nutritious than that of the

carrot. The crop is also on many soils of larger quantity; and although

the parsnip delights in a very open, rich soil, it will succeed in

clayey soils far too stiff for the carrot.

=Pea= (_Pisum sativum_) has been cultivated from very remote times. The

pea plant is covered with a delicate, glaucous bloom, and its white or

pale violet flowers are familiar to all. The pods are pendulous, smooth,

deep green and variable in size and may contain any number up to

thirteen (rarely more) peas. The peas when ripe are also variable, some

being white and round, others blue and wrinkled, and a few large,

irregular, and dull green. They are cultivated in Europe, Asia and the

United States. Chiefly used as green vegetable, but also for fodder.

Ranks seventh in acreage among minor vegetables in the United States.

=Peppers= or Capsicums or Chillies (_Capsicum annum_ and _C.

frutescens_) are widely cultivated in the warmer parts of both

hemispheres. The fruits vary considerably in shape and size, and when

green are cooked and eaten as a vegetable.

=Potato= (_Solanum tuberosum_) is the greatest of vegetable gifts to

man. Its cabbage-like stalks have a height of from eighteen to twenty

inches; its leaves are solitary and pennate; its large pentagonal

blossoms are white, reddish or violet; its fruit is a green berry.

Attached to its underground runners are those bulbs which serve as food

to many millions of people, and from which starch, sago, sugar of grapes

and brandy are prepared.

The potato stands second only to corn as the most important contribution

of America to the food plants of the world. Preëminently the most

important vegetable grown in Europe and America. The world crop is

enormous, exceeding five billion bushels; in bulk surpassing by about

one-half the world crop of wheat, corn or oats. Germany, Russia,

Austria-Hungary, France, the United States and Great Britain are the

chief producers in order named. Germany grows one-third of the world

crop, Russia one-fifth. In the United States they are grown in every

state and territory; also in Hawaii and Alaska.

Their cultivation was even ancient in Peru. It was widely diffused from

Chile to Colombia at time of Spanish discovery, but there were no

evidences of culture in Mexico or by North American Indians. It was

introduced into what is now North Carolina and Virginia late in the

sixteenth century; taken to Europe first by the Spaniards early in the

sixteenth century and to England by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1585. SWEET

POTATOES are the thickened roots of _Ipomoea Batatas_, a climbing plant.

This plant is extensively cultivated in most tropical countries,

although not known in a wild state. The root contains much starch and

saccharine matter. They are second only to the potato in the United

States, being widely grown in the South--Georgia, North Carolina,

Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee producing over half of the total

crop, which in acreage and value is about one-fifth that of the potato.

=Radish= (_Raphanus sativus_) is a well-known plant, the root of which

is a valuable salad; it has been cultivated from a remote period. It is

now possible to have a supply the whole year round. Crisp, tender

radishes with delicate flavor are only obtained by quick growth on rich,

moist soil. The earliest crops are grown in frames on hotbeds, the crop

being ready about five weeks from sowing. The earliest sowing outdoors

can be made from December to February in sheltered sunny positions, the

beds being covered with a thick layer of litter. There are round, oval

and long-rooted varieties.

=Tomato= or Love-apple (_Lycopersicum esculentum_). The fruit of this

plant is fleshy, usually red or yellow, divided into two, three or more

cells containing numerous seeds imbedded in pulp. The tomato is one of a

genus of several species, all natives of South America, chiefly on the

Peruvian side. In the warmer countries of the United States, Europe and

other countries in which the summer is warm and prolonged, it has long

been cultivated for the excellent qualities of the fruit as an article

of diet. The tomato is extensively grown as a field crop for canneries

in the United States, and in the North is one of the chief

winter-forcing crops. It is exceeded in acreage only by the watermelon

and sweet corn among the minor vegetables. In the United States the crop

exceeds thirty million bushels, nearly half of which is grown in

Maryland and New Jersey.

=Turnip= (_Brassica rapa_). Although the turnip is of great value for

feeding stock, it is not very nutritious, no less than nine to

ninety-six parts of its weight actually consisting of water. One of the

best early varieties is purple top strap leaf. Early flat Dutch is also

good. The Swedish turnip, or _ruta baga_, which was introduced into

cultivation from the north of Europe more recently than the common

turnip, and has proved of very great value to the farmer, is regarded by

some botanists as a variety of the same species, and by some as a

variety of _B. napus_, but more generally as a variety of _B.

campestris_, a species common in cornfields and sides of ditches in

Britain and the north of Europe.

=Watermelon= (_Citrullus vulgaris_). The most popular melon in

cultivation, is extensively grown in warm climates throughout the world,

but most abundantly in southern Russia and the southern United States.

It leads all minor vegetables in acreage, being surpassed only by the

major vegetables, potato and sweet potato. Texas, Georgia, North

Carolina and Missouri are the chief growers in the order named. Very

anciently it was cultivated by Egyptians.

=Yam= (_Dioscorea alata_). Yams, the tubers of various species of

_Dioscorea_, are cultivated in nearly all tropical countries. Yam tubers

abound in farinaceous matter and often reach a large size. They resemble

but are inferior to the sweet potato.

=PLANTING TABLE FOR GARDEN VEGETABLES=

Time given is for latitude of New York. Each one hundred miles north

or south will make a difference of from five to seven days in the

season. The distances given here indicate the distance apart the

plants should stand after thinning. The seed should be sown much

nearer together. CLASS A. These plants may be started early (in the

greenhouse or hotbed, in early spring, or outdoors in the seedbed

later), and afterwards transplanted to their permanent location.

CLASS B. These crops usually occupy the ground for the entire

season. CLASS C. These are quick maturing crops which, for a

constant supply, should be planted at several different times in

“succession”--a week or two weeks apart. CLASS D. These are crops

which often may be cleared off in time to permit planting another

quickly maturing crop, usually of some early variety. CLASS E. These

crops are supplementary to those in Class D and may be used to

obtain a second crop out of the ground from which early crops have

been cleared.

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=PLANTING TABLE FOR GARDEN VEGETABLES--Continued=

The Circle of Knowledge: A Classified, Simplified, Visualized Book of Answers · 第 270 / 1638 题