Text A. Field crops

1. By the word " crop" we understand every useful plant cultivated for the benefit of mankind¹. Depending upon their field of application², crops can be subdivided into the following four groups:

2. Food crops³, including mainly cereals, or grain crops. The most important of them is wheat, which is grown practically at all latitudes. Wheat is followed by⁴ rye grown essentially in Northern countries. Next to rye in significance comes barley used for the preparation of gruels and for malting. Buckwheat and millet serve principally for making gruels. Oats belong both to the group of food and feed crops. Porridge made of it is a highly nutritive food for man, but oats are practically widely used for feeding domestic animals. To the group of food crops also belong rice, tea, coffee, cocoa, grapes, etc.

3. Feed crops⁵ are those, the main purpose of which is to supply provender to cattle. Many varieties of grasses belong to this group: clover, timothy, alfalfa, vetch, etc. Many of these grasses serve at the same time the purpose of returning to the soil those particular nutritive elements which the preceding crop⁶ has extracted from the earth. Swedes and mangle are also important feed crops.

4. Industrial crops⁷ are those that provide raw materials for further processing⁸. Sugar beet is the main primary⁹ for the sugar industry. The flax plant yields the fine fibres of which linen is made. Flax oil received from the seeds is known to be a food product and an industrial as well. The hemp plant also yields raw materials for producing rough cloth, sacking and oil. Perhaps the most important industrial crop for the textile industry is cotton. The cotton plant yields the cotton fibre. The seeds are either kept for sowing again, or are used in making oil and oil-cake for cattle. The main oil crop in our country is the sunflower plant, which gives one of the best food oils and oil-cake for cattle. The potato plant is one of the most important field crops. This tuber crop is a very valuable food, feed, and industrial crop as well. Nowadays the cultivation of the potato plant has widely spread throughout the world¹⁰. Potatoes are grown on almost all classes of soil. That is why¹¹ this tuber crop is grown in all regions of our country.

5. The fourth group of crops is represented¹² by vegetables.

Notes and Commentaries:

¹cultivated for the benefit of mankind – які вирощуються для користі людини

²depending upon their field of application – залежно від сфери їх застосування

³food crops – харчові культури

⁴wheat is followed by – запшеницею йде

⁵feed crops – кормові культури

⁶the preceding crop – культура-попередник

⁷industrial crops – технічні культури

⁸for further processing – для подальшої переробки

⁹primary – первинна (сировина)

¹⁰has widely spread throughout the world – широко розповсюдилася по всьому світі

¹¹that is why – ось чому

¹²is represented – представлена