II. WHEAT, RYE AND CORN.
BY BYRON D. HALSTED.
The three grains here treated, viz.: wheat, rye and corn, belong to the vast order of plants known as the grass family (Gramineæ). This large group of plants, the members of which are so closely related as to be quickly recognized as such, contains many of the most valuable of all cultivated plants. It not only furnishes the cereals, namely: wheat, rye, corn, oats, barley and rice, which supply the world with the larger part of its starchy food, but clothes the pasture and meadow of the farmer with the herbage so essential to the sustenance of his live stock. There is a deep and weighty truth in the familiar expression: “All flesh is grass.” Blot out the grass family from existence and nearly all forms of life would suffer, and many kinds would soon perish from the earth.
The grasses are usually low and comparatively small plants—though the bamboos of the tropics are almost treelike, with jointed stems and alternate, slender leaves. The flowers are inconspicuous, usually in spikes or spreading clusters, with three stamens, anthers versatile, styles two, stigma feathery, ovary one-celled, becoming a grain.
Wheat has probably more intrinsic value than any other plant grown. It is probably a native of southwestern Asia, but like most grains and fruits cultivated from remote antiquity, its early history is extremely uncertain. Many varieties have been produced from the original Triticum vulgare—the scientific name of wheat—but they can all be placed in the two following groups: Those that are tender called spring wheats, sown in spring, and the winter sorts that are sown in autumn, remain on the ground through the winter and are harvested the subsequent summer. The winter wheats are the more valuable and bring a higher price than the spring varieties. Some wheats have long awns to the flowers, and are termed bearded, while other sorts are nearly or entirely awnless, and are sometimes styled bald. There is a great variation in the size and color of the grain. In some varieties it is long, others short; some are white, others brown, red, and amber; some are hard, others are soft. New sorts are produced yearly, and the varieties have become practically innumerable.
The area devoted to the growth of wheat in the United States is between thirty-five and forty million acres, and the yield of the present season (1884) will not be far from 500,000,000 bushels. The average yield per acre, take the whole country through, is not far from thirteen bushels per acre. Nineteen states (and territories) cultivate over a million acres each; six over two millions, and three over three millions, namely: Illinois, 3,218,542; Iowa, 3,049,288; and Minnesota, 3,044,670 acres, as given in the last census. In the order of the number of bushels produced, the leading states stand thus: Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, California. New York stands thirteenth, and Rhode Island last, with seventeen acres and 240 bushels. It will be seen that the wheat region, strictly speaking, is in the Mississippi Valley, centering around Illinois, with a secondary area in middle California. According to the report on the cereal production of the United States by Professor Wm. H. Brewer, in the statistics of agriculture in the tenth census, the yield and quality of the wheat crops is stated to depend upon five conditions: climate, soil, variety cultivated, method of cultivation and the liability to destruction by insects. The quality of the grain depends more upon the climate than the soil. A hot, dry and sunny harvest produces a grain of the highest quality. The ideal climate for wheat growing is most nearly reached during the best years in California, and it is then and there that we have records of the greatest yields of the best of wheat.
A good rich soil is needed for successful wheat growing. This may be preserved on any farm by a well regulated system of crop rotation. It must be borne in mind that wheat has a short season for its growth and needs to have food prepared and close at hand. One of the best preparatory crops is clover. The clover sod, including the vast amount of roots, furnishes a most acceptable feeding ground for the wheat. The soil itself is not one of the items most frequently overlooked in wheat growing. The importance of good plump seed of the best varieties is rarely overestimated. There is a vast deal in the sort of wheat grown, and no one can afford to grow any but the best.
The most common diseases of wheat are rust and smut, both of vegetable origin. These troubles, which appear so suddenly and are often very destructive, are minute microscopic plants of the order of fungi, and therefore related to the moulds and mildews common on various articles of food, etc. The insect enemies are somewhat numerous, but the Hessian fly, wheat midge, joint worm, chinch bug, army worms, and Rocky Mountain locust are the most destructive. There are a few insects that prey upon the grain after it is in the granary, and these are on the increase. Among the enemies we should not forget to mention various weeds that spring up in the fields and endeavor to choke out the legitimate occupants of the soil.
The nutritive value and chemical composition of wheat grain are important points worthy of consideration here, because this general article is to be followed by one upon the culinary aspects of the grain treated. The market value of a flour largely rests upon its appearance, while the nutritive value depends upon the results determined by the analytical chemist. The average of fifty-seven analyses of winter wheat in the kernel gave:
| WATER. | ASH. | ALBUMINOIDS. | FIBER. | STARCH, GUM, &C. | FAT. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Wheat | 11.18 | 1.70 | 11.70 | 1.66 | 71.81 | 1.95 |
| Spring Wheat | 10.50 | 1.84 | 11.97 | 1.86 | 70.64 | 2.19 |
| Wheat Flour | 11.56 | 0.59 | 11.09 | 0.17 | 75.43 | 1.14 |
It will be seen that there is very little chemical difference between winter and spring wheats. The composition of the flour shows a removal of nearly all the woody fiber, two thirds of the ash, nearly half the fat and a small reduction of the albuminoids, while the water is somewhat and the carb-hydrates (starch, gum, etc.) considerably increased. It will be interesting to here give an analysis of wheat bran and shorts:
| WATER. | ASH. | ALBUMINOIDS. | FIBER. | STARCH, GUM, &C. | FAT. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bran | 11.65 | 5.63 | 14.00 | 9.13 | 55.56 | 4.03 |
| Shorts | 11.26 | 3.95 | 15.13 | 7.46 | 57.35 | 4.85 |
By a comparison of these tables it will be easy to note the positions in the kernel occupied by the various substances. The fiber, ash, fat, and albuminoids are more abundant in the outer portion of the grain, especially the first three. It must be kept in mind that the albuminoids are the most expensive elements of food, and are frequently called the “flesh formers,” because they produce muscles. The starchy compounds are employed for the production of heat in the animal system. The functions and comparative importance of these several constituents are already given at some length in the article on the potato in a previous issue of The Chautauquan.
Rye (Secale cereale).—This grain was grown by the Egyptians and other eastern nations, and its nativity is lost in oblivion. It is of far less importance than wheat, and does not possess any remarkable tendency to vary from its normal type. It has a wider range of growth than wheat, and flourishes in cooler regions than those adapted for most of the other grains. There are both spring and winter varieties. The preparation of the soil, the seeding, harvesting, etc., are much the same as for wheat. It will succeed on a poorer soil and with less attention than wheat. On this account rye was a more important crop in the earlier centuries of the development of the human race than to-day. Rye bread was a daily food among our people in the colonial days, and in some old countries where the soil has been too much worn out for wheat rye is grown successfully. The opening up of various parts of our country by railroads has checked the rye industry, and introduced wheat in its place.
The acreage of rye in the United States in 1880 was 1,842,303 acres, yielding 19,831,595 bushels. The states producing over a million bushels are only five, namely, Pennsylvania, Illinois, New York, Wisconsin, and Iowa. The amount of rye grown in the United States in 1839 was more than that at ten, twenty, or thirty years later. Its cultivation for bread has rapidly decreased, but for other purposes there is an apparent increase. Rye makes an excellent green fodder crop, and is also employed for plowing under as a green manure. The straw is the primary crop in many sections, there being a good market for this excellent product. The chemical composition of rye differs somewhat from that of wheat, being poorer in albuminoids. The wheat flours average 11.09 per cent. of albuminoids, while that of rye is 6.65. Rye bran is, on the other hand, richer in these constituents than wheat. Professor Brewer, to whom we are indebted for many of our percentages here given, says: “These figures are so plain that they scarcely require comment, and they illustrate why fine wheat flour is so much better than fine rye bread, and also why the difference in nutritious qualities between coarse rye bread and fine rye bread is so much greater than between coarse wheat bread and fine wheat bread.” Rye is subject to fungoid attacks, one of which is of special interest—the “spurred” rye, or ergot. The fungus causes the grains to increase to several times their normal size, and become purple, hard and curved, somewhat resembling the spurs of a cock. This ergotted or “spurred” grain is very poisonous. In some parts of Europe, where rye is largely grown, there have been extensive epidemics among the people, caused by eating rye affected with ergot. The insect enemies are nearly the same as those mentioned with wheat.
Corn.—Indian corn, or maize, is the leading grain crop of the United States. The area devoted to this grain for the present year is not far from seventy million acres, and the yield will not fall much short of two thousand million bushels (2,000,000,000). According to the census of 1880, the six following states produced over a hundred million bushels each: Illinois, over three hundred and twenty-five millions; Iowa, over two hundred and seventy-five millions; Missouri, over two hundred and two millions; Indiana, over one hundred and fifteen millions; Ohio, over one hundred and eleven millions, and Kansas over one hundred and five millions. Corn is very generally distributed over the whole country, but it attains its greatest excellence on the rich lands of the western prairies.
There is but little doubt that Indian corn is of American origin. Columbus and other discoverers found it cultivated by the natives of the New World. Since that time Indian corn has been carried to all parts of the globe, and in many places it is grown with profit. The corn plant is botanically Zea mays, and is very unlike any of the other cereals in the arrangement of its flowers. The clusters of male or pollen bearing flowers are at the upper end of the stalk, forming the tassel, while the female flowers are crowded upon a spike situated upon one side of the stalk, midway between the top and the bottom. This separation of the flowers permits of ready cross fertilization; that is, the grains of one ear are very likely to be impregnated with flower-dust showered down from the tassel of a neighboring plant. The truth of this is always demonstrated when two distinct varieties, as white and yellow sorts, are planted in adjoining rows. There will be a “mixing” in nearly every ear along the border line. This ease in crossing permits the farmer to combine the good qualities of desirable sorts; in other words corn may be bred and has been bred as successfully as any kind of live stock. The corn plant also has a very plastic nature, and quickly responds to any favoring conditions of soil, climate or culture. We should therefore expect to find the number of varieties of Indian corn without number. Many attempts have been made to classify the different sorts. A common grouping is into field, sweet, pop and husk sorts. Another is into flint, Tuscarora, dent, and sweet varieties. Some of the leading characteristics in the classification are color of grain, rows on cob, size and form of grain, etc. The field varieties include dents and flints, and are grown in large areas. The sweet corns have a large per cent. of sugar, and are grown for eating in the green condition. The pop corns are small sorts, with a very hard covering. The stalks of corn vary from two to twenty feet in length, and the ears from half an ounce to a pound and a half. The number of rows of grain on the cob is always even, and ranges from four to forty. The grain varies in color; it may be white, yellow, violet, purple, blue, slate, black, or variegated.
A good corn ground is rich, warm, deep and mellow. Unlike the other cereals, the work of culture in the cornfield is only well begun when the plants appear above the surface. Being in rows there is a fine opportunity offered for weeds to come in and occupy the soil before the corn plants make enough growth to defend their rights to the land. The first enemy to the corn is the cut-worm, and the next is the crow. If it were not for the cut-worm it is probable that the crow would rarely visit the corn-field. The crow is the enemy of the cut-worm and many other injurious farm pests. He may pull some corn for two weeks in the year, but during the other fifty he is clearly on the farmer’s side. The weeds are the worst enemies to the corn, and smut comes next. This trouble is, like the wheat rust and the ergot of the rye, a member of the fungus group. The smut appears on various parts of the plant, but usually on the ear. All smutted parts should be cut out and burned, as they are unfit for food, and this prevents the spread of the disease.
The chemical composition of corn is more variable than that of wheat. The following table may be compared with that given for wheat. An average of a large number of analyses is given for each item:
| WATER. | ASH. | ALBUMINOIDS. | FIBER. | STARCH, GUM, &C. | FAT. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flint | 10.85 | 1.45 | 10.87 | 1.61 | 70.29 | 4.93 |
| Dent | 11.23 | 1.48 | 10.49 | 1.91 | 70.15 | 4.74 |
| Sweet | 8.81 | 1.87 | 12.15 | 2.31 | 66.87 | 7.99 |
| Hominy | 13.49 | 0.38 | 8.25 | 0.32 | 77.12 | 0.44 |
| Meal | 15.97 | 1.27 | 8.19 | 1.61 | 69.50 | 3.46 |
| Cob | 9.16 | 1.32 | 2.22 | 32.04 | 54.85 | 0.43 |
The most striking difference between wheat and corn is the amount of oil or fat. In wheat this ranges from 1.26 to 2.67 per cent., while in corn it averages 5.29, or from two to three times as much. The popular opinion that corn is a heating and fattening food is therefore supported by chemical analyses. It will be seen from the table that the sweet corns contain much more fat and a larger per cent. of albuminoids than the other varieties. These, therefore, have a higher nutritive value. Whatever may have been said in favor of or against either the flint or dent varieties falls to the ground in the light of the average analyses of these classes when brought side by side. It will be seen that the differences are practically nothing. It is only a matter of fancy which is employed. Much has been said concerning color, but this is little more than skin deep, and does not affect the quality of the food derived from the grain. Those families which have become accustomed to yellow corn prefer it, and those using the white sorts like these best. It is a matter of taste, in one sense, and not of taste in another.
Chemistry shows no great difference in the percentage of albuminoids in wheat and corn, but it is a fact that all the differences can not be set down in figures. The housewife knows very well that a light, spongy bread is not easily made from corn; in other words, corn bread is very different in texture from wheat bread, even when the two flours are equally well prepared. Much may be due to the greater amount of oil in the corn, but there is little doubt that the gluten of corn is of a different texture or character than that in wheat. This most important constituent is subject to great variation in wheat, so much so that this grain grown in one locality makes a light bread, while that from another, in the same hands and under the same treatment, yields a heavy bread, and of poor quality. No one doubts that much improvement may be made in the milling of corn—as much, perhaps, as has been recently effected in that of wheat. We may look for a “new process” by which our corn bread may be vastly improved.
Corn is, however, the great fattening food for swine and other live stock, and we should be satisfied to take our corn in that transmuted form when it appears upon our tables as a fragrant spare-rib or a juicy and tender chop or beefsteak.
Of the three grains herein briefly treated we have seen that wheat stands at the head as a food for man in our country. In any form it is prepared it can be a complete and palatable food. The albuminoids (gluten, etc.) are in such abundance and form that the flour may produce snowy, spongy and most healthful bread—truly a staff of life on which all rejoice to lean. Rye is a declining grain, it being replaced by wheat. It will grow on poorer soil than wheat, but with the many kinds of commercial fertilizers at our service no one should grow rye because of an impoverished soil. Corn in all its bearings is a peer of wheat. It is in one sense our contribution to the world’s list of grains, and in this we justly take pride. It is more largely grown than any other crop, and as a source of natural wealth it stands ahead of wheat. As a plant corn is most interesting, being plastic and quickly responsive to any favoring conditions. If corn is king, as some claim, wheat is certainly queen in this royal family of cereals.