Читать книгу The Circle of Knowledge: A Classified, Simplified, Visualized Book of Answers - Various - Страница 175

The cereals are members of a great family of the grasses which have been cultivated by man from time immemorial. Originally, no doubt, they were wild plants which attracted attention owing to the comparatively large quantities of foodstuffs they yielded, the ease with which they could be collected, and their edible qualities. Now, in the majority of cases, the original wild forms are no longer known, and as is common with plants cultivated in many lands and during long periods, innumerable species and varieties have been evolved as the result of selection by man of the forms which appeared desirable for one or other of their qualities.