Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

attribute of high class macaroni. Heretofore most of the macaroni has been imported, the domestic article not having been altogether satisfactory. This has been due in part, it is believed, to lack of good macaroni wheat and in part to lack of technical skill in the manufacture of the semolina.1

"The macaroni wheats are tall,

with broad, smooth leaves. The heads are heavily bearded, being much more so than any of the ordinary wheats, and the plant when bearded has much the appearance of barley. The heads are large and vary in color from light yellow to almost black, depending upon the variety. The kernels are large, very hard, having less starch than common wheat. They vary from light yellow to reddish yellow in color. The habits of growth of durum wheats adapt them to regions of light rainfall. They have great ability to withstand drouth and heat but require a rich soil, although they are notably tolerant of alkali. In some mild climates durum wheats are sown in the fall, but generally they are grown as spring wheat.” 2

The natural habitat of durum wheat is about the same as that of poulard wheat. In Spain it is more largely grown than any other type. It is also grown considerably in South and Central America,

Durum wheat.
(One-half natural size.)

whence it has found its way into Texas under the name of Nicaragua wheat. Another variety has been grown successfully in parts of the Northwest and Canada under the name of Wild Goose. The varieties of durum wheat tested at the stations have

1 Manufacture of Semolina and Macaroni. U. S. Dept. of Agr., Bu. of Pl. Ind. Bul. 20.

2 Neb. Bul. 78, p. 4.

come principally from Russia and Algeria. The former seem to be superior to the latter, which suggests that the best results will be obtained in more northerly portions of the semiarid section of this country.

The durum wheat does not tiller as freely as common wheat. The South Dakota Station recommends six pecks of seed where five pecks of common wheat are used. Otherwise the culture of durum wheat is similar to that of common wheat.

85. Polish Wheat (Tr. polonicum L).—This species may be distinguished from the common varieties of wheat by the palea of the lowest flower, which is half as long as the flowering glume,

Polish wheat.

while in the latter the palea is as long as its glume. In the polish wheat the outer glumes are as long or longer than any of the flowering glumes, while in the common varieties the outer glumes are shorter. The grains of polish wheat are large and somewhat resemble rye, which accounts for the wheat being sometimes called Giant or Jerusalem rye. The glumes are blue-green, the spikelets rather long, close to rachis, giving spike a striking appearance. This wheat is cultivated somewhat in southern Europe, but is ordinarily not considered productive. It is believed by Carleton to be adapted to the arid districts of this country. It is adapted for the production of macaroni but not for breadmaking.

86.

Spring and Winter Wheat.-There are (One-half natural size.) spring and winter varieties of all the species and subspecies of wheat except emmer, which is a spring variety only. Linnaeus divided common wheat into two separate species, calling winter wheat Tr. hybernum and spring wheat Tr. oestivum. It has been shown, however, by direct experiment that winter wheat may be changed to spring wheat

and spring wheat to winter wheat. M. Mouries sowed winter wheat in the spring and out of one hundred plants four alone ripened seeds. These were sown and resown and in three years plants were reared which ripened all their seeds. Conversely, nearly all the plants raised from spring wheat sown in the autumn perished from the cold, but a few were saved and produced seed. In three years this spring variety was converted into a winter variety. This is a striking example of the climatic adaptability of wheat. It shows that a variety which possesses valuable characteristics, although lacking hardiness, may be worth attempting to grow, provided intelligent selection is exercised until it becomes adapted to the climate.

[blocks in formation]

87. The Importance of Variety.-The variety has much to do with the successful culture of wheat 'n each individual instance. Except in the possible extra outlay for seed, it costs no more to raise twenty bushels from a good variety than fifteen bushels from a poor variety. If, on the other hand, the yield is increased by the use of fertilizers or by better preparation of the seed bed, the increase is made at some expense, more or less considerable. (29)

88. The Best Variety.-There is no best variety for the whole country. Not only do good varieties in one locality prove poor varieties in another, but sometimes a variety which one year gives the largest yield of fifty varieties, sown the next year in the same locality is one of the poorest yielders. Nevertheless, careful and systematic tests covering a decade or more by several experiment stations show that certain varieties are on an average of years decidedly superior to other varieties in the given locality and for the particular soil and methods of culture. Hays estimates that the Minnesota Station has made possible the increase in the yield of wheat in Minnesota one to two bushels per acre, or five to ten per cent, through the introduc

tion of Minnesota No. 169. A list of some of the best varieties as shown by the results of station tests is given elsewhere. (96, 97, 98, 99)

89. Variety Names.-One reason which makes the comparative merits of varieties so confusing is that many names are given to the same variety. It is not unusual for old and wellknown varieties to be put on the market with high sounding names and extravagant praises. Probably the re-naming of old varieties is to some extent intentional deception, but doubtless much of it is done through ignorance. A wheat raiser procures fresh seed from some source without knowing the name of it, and finds after growing it a year or two that it is better than that grown by his immediate neighbors. This leads to a local name, given either by the grower or the buyers. The better the variety and the more extensively it is grown, the larger the number of names it is likely to receive. Different varieties, also, although less frequently, sometimes have the same name. Often fancied or real improvement has taken place. It would often be difficult to decide when a strain has varied sufficiently to justify its having a new name.

90. Pedigree Wheat.-To protect both the purchaser of seed wheat and the producer of superior varieties, it has been proposed to establish a register for recording varieties of wheat and other field crops. This record would be accompanied by a statistical pedigree of the variety and there would be just the same opportunity of judging the source and value of the variety as there now is for judging these qualities in registered breeds of live stock. By statistical pedigree is meant that the yield of the crop in each generation would be on record. If the yield of a lineal ancestor of a particular strain of a given variety were known for a number of generations, together with the name of the grower, the locality, character of soil, and method of culture of each generation, the purchaser would have an intelligent and consistent basis for judging its value. Whether this register

could best be conducted by breeders' associations, by the State or National agency is still an unsettled question. In the meantime there is an opportunity for breeders to form associations and reap a benefit similar to that obtained by live stock breeders' associations.

91. Number of Varieties.-In 1895 the United States Department of Agriculture collected about 1,000 rather distinct varieties of wheat, having obtained varieties from every wheat country of the world. After three years' trial less than 200 varieties were selected as being worthy of continued trial. After five years' trial, it was determined that in all the species and subspecies of wheat there were 245 which may be regarded as leading varieties of the world, at least so far as they have any adaptability to American conditions.

92. Variety Characteristics.—The following are some of the characteristics which may be taken to constitute variety differences: color, shape and hardness of grain, color and smoothness of glumes, glumes bearded or beardless, time of ripening, length and other characters of straw. If grown under like conditions, probably the size of the grain, when the differences are marked, should be considered. With winter wheat the time of ripening is not a very important characteristic through much of the winter wheat area. The Ohio Station finds usually about twelve days as the extreme difference in sixty-five varieties tested, although a difference of sixteen days has been noted. This station is confirmed in the belief that seasons which produce early maturity give crops of better quality.1 Hays found ainong 400 plants of a single spring variety that the time of ripening varied from 97 to 127 days. In those States west of the Missouri River where hot dry winds frequently prevail during the ripening period, especially if delayed, earliness of maturity 1 Ohio Bul. 129, p. 18.

8 Minn. Bul. 62 (1899) p. 424.

« AnteriorContinuar »