BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. 309 



GRAIN INVESTIGATIONS. 



The general adaptation, breeding, and other work of the Bureau on 

 grains has continued, as in previous years, under the immediate charge 

 of Mr. M. A. Carleton, Cerealist, and good progress has been made 

 along a number of lines. 



Winter-wheat extension. — Experiments with the different strains 

 of hard winter wheat have been continued even more extensively than 

 during the preceding year, particularly in the western portion of the 

 Great Plains and intermountain districts. The season throughout all 

 the semiarid region has been unusually severe, the summer having 

 been particularly dr}- and the winter cold in certain localities. The 

 opportunity, therefore, has been good for a test of the Kharkof variety, 

 which had already given indications of being an unusually harcly 

 strain. From experiments so far, two facts appear to have been 

 learned with reference to this variety, namely, (1) that it gives the 

 best comparative results in seasons of extreme drought and cold, and 

 (2) that while on the whole it is a hardier strain than others of the 

 Crimean group, in a number of localities the common Turkey strain 

 gives fully as good results on an average. The total annual produc- 

 tion of the Kharkof variety is now probably between 15,000,000 and 

 20,000,000 busliels. 



Durum-wheat investigations. — The conditions of the past year 

 have been particularly favorable for durum wheat in comparison 

 with common varieties in view of the extreme drought. The superior 

 adaptation of this kind of wheat over others in dry districts has been 

 demonstrated more emphatically than ever before. Work in the 

 development of pure types from the different durum varieties has 

 proceeded as before and several distinct strains have been obtained 

 that are considerably different in their local adaptation. As rapidly 

 as possible these representative strains will be assigned definitely to 

 the districts in which they belong, there being no doubt that the 

 Kubanka, already well known, will remain the important variety for 

 the northern States of the Great Plains. 



During the year there has been an unusual amount of correspond- 

 ence with individuals with reference to the source for obtaining 

 durum-wheat flour, showing a distinct demand among the people 

 for flour of this kind. As heretofore it has been difficult to point 

 out where a good grade of durum flour could be obtained. On the 

 other hand for the entire year there is yet no case on record Imown 

 to this Department where anyone after trying the flour has been 

 displeased with it. Durum-wheat flour is now commonly used in 

 a number of eastern cities, particularly Baltimore, Washington, 

 and Richmond, a single fii-m having disposed of five carloads in the 

 last-named city within three months. 



Pacific coast grain investigations. — The demonstration of the 

 adaptation of Chul and Fretes wheats to the San Joaquin and Sacra- 

 mento valleys in California were mentioned in the last report. It 

 remained to increase the seed of pure strains of tliese wheats that 

 the farmers might l^e able to make use of them. This work is going on 

 as rapidly as possible. During the year a number of demonstration 

 trials liave been arranged with some of the representative farmers 



