ON THE SUPPOSED ORIGIN OF BARLEY AND RYE.
The cereal barley is found to offer three important forms, which can be
best explained by the annexed diagramatic arrangement:—
[Illustration:
_Two-rowed—by abortion of four_
_Four-rowed—by abortion of two_
_Six-rowed—by fruition of all_
_the seeds of a spikelet._]
The two-rowed barley has been named _Hordeum distichum_; and as we are
inclined, with Professor Lindley, to the belief that this is the
original from whence the other forms have sprung, we here quote the
learned Professor’s remarks upon this and the probably allied forms:—
“It is probable,” he says, “that all kinds of barley grown by
farmers are varieties of one species, of which, the _H. distichum_
of Linnæus is the type. The spikelets of this genus always standing
in threes, and the threes being placed back to back, it is evident
that every ear of barley must consist of six rows of spikelets. If
the middle spikelet of each set of threes is alone perfect, the
side spikelets being abortive, we have _H. distichum_, the common
two-rowed barley, and its many varieties; if the two-tuberal of
each set is perfect, and the central spikelet imperfect, as
sometimes happens, then we have four-rowed barley; if, on the other
hand, all the spikelets are perfect, we have six-rowed barley, or
_H. hexastichum_; but the cases of four-rowed barley have been
merely accidental—they may be referred to the six-rowed form; and
thus we have only two principal kinds of barley—namely, _H.
distichum_ and _H. hexastichum_.
“1. _H. distichum._—This is the only kind of barley that has been
found apparently wild. We have now before us specimens gathered in
Mesopotamia during Col. Chesney’s expedition to the Euphrates, with
narrow ears, a little more than an inch long, exclusive of the awn,
or four and a half inches awns included; and others from the ruins
of Persepolis, with ears scarcely so large as starved rye. Both are
straw-colour, but that from Mesopotamia has the glumes much more
hairy than the other. The plant is also said to inhabit Tartary.
The report that it grows wild in Sicily seems to have arisen from
the Mediterranean _Ægilops ovata_ having been mistaken for it. To
this species belong all the varieties, from one to sixteen,
formerly mentioned under Barley; as also does No. 20, fig.
34[14]—the _H. zeocriton_, sprat or battledore barley, an undoubted
result of domestication, chiefly remarkable for the ears being so
much broader at the base than the point as to produce a long ovate
figure.
[14] See Morton’s _Cyclopædia of Agriculture_.
“2. _H. hexastichum._—We found no record of this having been found
wild, and presume it and its numerous varieties to be domesticated
forms of _H. distichum_. The common bere, or winter barley, may be
taken as the typical form to which Nos. 18, 21, and 22, and figs.
37 and 38[15] are evidently referable, varying in size, colour, and
hairiness, more than in any other circumstance deserving botanical
appreciation.
[15] Ibid.
“The _H. vulgare_ of Linnæus is a form with the grains in four
rows, the naked-eared variety of which is again the _H. cœleste_ of
some writers.
“Both these forms of barley vary with naked seed, the pales losing
their adhesion to the grain. But this difference is attended with
no other peculiarity.
“3. The _H. trifurcatum_, also known under Dr. Royle’s name of _H.
ægiceras_, is a very remarkable naked-seeded species, with much the
appearance of wheat. It is a tall or glaucous six-rowed sort, but
the rows are not placed in lines with the same exactness as in the
two former kinds, so that the ears are round like wheat. The pales
are apparently in a monstrous form, the ends being three-lobed, and
curved back in the form of horns, which sometimes extend into awns.
It has been introduced from the Himalaya Mountains within a few
years, but its economical qualities remain to be determined.”[16]
[16] _Cyclopædia of Agriculture_, vol. ii. p. 68.
We have had opportunities, through the kindness of Professor Lindley,
who contributed seeds, of cultivating all the forms just described; but
our experiments for two years did not elicit anything new upon the
subject: we therefore feel justified in quoting the above entire,
especially as the different forms in our plots afforded sufficient
evidence of an uniformity of origin on the one hand, with every
disposition for forming varieties on the other.
Rye (_Secale cereale_).—For the little that is known of the natural
history and origin of this crop-plant we again quote from the
_Cyclopædia of Agriculture_, which states as follows:—
“The common rye is a cereal grass, distinguished from wheat by its
narrow glumes and constantly twin narrow florets, with a membranous
abortion between them. Otherwise it is little different in
structure, although the quality of its grain is so inferior.
According to Karl Koch, it is found undoubtedly wild on the
mountains of the Crimea, especially all around the village of
Dshimil, on granite, at the elevation of from 5,000 to 6,000 feet.
In such places, its ears are not more than 1 to 2½ inches long. Its
native country explains the reason why it is so much hardier than
any variety of wheat, the southern origin of which is now
ascertained.”
We have not seen any of this so-called wild rye; it would, however, be
of great service could some good experiments be made with it, with a
view of noting the changes which take place on cultivation. Indeed, we
have long wished for authentic examples of all our wild, or supposed
wild, cereals, with a view of examining side by side the nature and
amount of the changes which cultivation would most assuredly produce.
Rye, unlike either wheat or barley, is not remarkable for a long list of
varieties—a fact which may, perhaps, be attributed to the more limited
growth of the former than the two latter. Its less extended cultivation
must be attributed to its inferior qualities as food; for, though rye is
in the main a hardier plant than wheat, and therefore could withstand
the evils of a colder climate and colder treatment, yet with the
advanced climate—the acclimatization of a country rather than a
plant—the superior plant, wheat, everywhere prevails; and this cause
also gives rise to the production of finer varieties, which are thus
grown where only coarser ones were possible.