526 



POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



The reports on the Early Riga wheat are most gratifying. The proportion 

 of gluten found in this variety is about twenty per cent, more than in Red 

 Fife and the quality of gluten equal. To find a wheat superior in quality to 

 Red Fife is what one would scarcely expect; but to find that superiority asso- 

 ciated with so much earliness — from eight to nine days as an average of five 

 years' trial — is highly satisfactory. The general introduction of such a wheat 

 will probably extend the wheat-growing area in Canada and make it successful 

 at points farther north than is possible with the varieties at present grown. 

 The fact that it falls a little below Red Fife in yield is more than atoned for 

 by its earliness and quality. The outlook in this connection is most encour- 

 aging and the results a triumph of the skill of the plant breeder. 



The relation between the very important varieties described may 



be represented as in the accompanying diagram: 



Red Fife 

 33 bush., 7 lbs. 



Ladoga 



7 days earlier than Red Fife; 



quality poorer. 



Preston, bearded 



4-6 days earlier than Red Fife, 



34 bush., 41 lbs. 



Strength and color marks 



slightly lower. 

 Worth f ct. less per bushel. 



Stanley, beardless 



4-6 days earlier than Red Fife, 



32 bush., 2 lbs. 



Equal in milling structure, 



appearance and strength 



to Red Fife. 



White Fife 

 33 bush., 15 lbs. 



Ladoga 



Huron, bearded 



4-5 days earlier than Red Fife, 



33 bush., 11 lbs. 



Percy, beardless 



4-5 days earlier than Red Fife. 



Equal in milling structure, 



appearance and strength 



to Red Fife. 



Gehun 

 Early; not very productive. 



Onega 

 Early; not very productive. 



Early Riga 



8-9 days earlier than Red Fife. 



Gluten 20 per cent, higher, equal in quality and color; 



dough slightly darker, reported " creamy white," 



instead of " white " as in the case of Red Fife. 



The cultivation of the different varieties was carried on by Dr. 

 Saunders and his assistants, but the value of the product was deter- 

 mined not only by the chemist of the experimental farms, but by one 



