. . Europe; their flour is very fine, and is used especially forpastry making, but, owing to the construction of the grain,it requires special machinery for grinding. The numerous varieties of wheat now in cultivation havebeen obtained either by selection or by cross-breeding. Inany wheat field there may be observed, on close inspection,plants differing in character from the majority. If seeds ofthese sporting plants be taken and gro^vn in another sea-son, they may (or may not) reproduce the particular varia-tion. If they do, and the
. . Europe; their flour is very fine, and is used especially forpastry making, but, owing to the construction of the grain,it requires special machinery for grinding. The numerous varieties of wheat now in cultivation havebeen obtained either by selection or by cross-breeding. Inany wheat field there may be observed, on close inspection,plants differing in character from the majority. If seeds ofthese sporting plants be taken and gro^vn in another sea-son, they may (or may not) reproduce the particular varia-tion. If they do, and the same process of selection becontinued, the variation becomes in time fixed, though it isalways more or less liable to revert to its original condition. The production of wheat, with the use of wheat bread,has increased enormously since the extension of railways hasmade possible the transportation of grain for great dis-tances by land. Of late years the increase of production hasbeen most notable in southern Russia, Australia, India, andNorth America. A. B. CHAPTER VI MUSHROOMS There are few more useful, more easily recognized, or moredelicious members of the vegetable kingdom than the com-mon Mushroom. It grows in short grass in the temperateregions of all parts of the world. Many edible fungi dependupon minute and often obscure botanical characteristics fortheir determination, and may readily be confounded withworthless or poisonous species, but that is not the case withthe common mushroom, for, although several other speciesof Agaricus somewhat closely approach it in form and color,yet the true mushroom, if sound and freshly gathered, maybe distinguished from all other fungi with great ease. Italmost invariably grows in rich, open, breezy pastures, inplaces where the grass is kept short by the grazing of horses,herds, and flocks. Although this plant is popularly termedthe meadow mushroom, it never, as a rule, grows inmeadows. It never grows in wet, boggy places, never in
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