290 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



practiced and that the date of fall seeding in many localities should 

 be a little later than that generally chosen. 



Winter emmer. — Recent investigations of winter emmer have 

 shown (lie important fact that it may be much improved in hardiness. 

 A particular strain has been developed from a few plants surviving 

 the winter several years ago in northern Wyoming which has re- 

 mained completely winter r.'sistant, though during the winter of 

 1909-10 the temperature fell to —20° F. It now remains to be 

 determined whether this improved strain will survive in the same 

 latitude east of the Kocky Mountains, . 



The value of emmer as a drought-resistant feeding crop is becoming 

 realized, and much popular interest in winter varieties has been awak- 

 ened. Some very good results with Black Winter emmer have been 

 obtained at the experiment farms. 



Experiments with proso. — Particular attention has been given to 

 experiments with the large-seeded Kussian millet correctly known as 

 proso. The indications are that this crop will succeed under condi- 

 tions and in localities heretofore unsuspect^'d. Particularly good 

 results were obtained under irrigation at Huntley, Mont., in coopera- 

 tion with the Office of Western Agricultural Extension. However, 

 at the same place the same varieties were also very successful under 

 dry-farming methods. Proso has done well at almost all northwest- 

 ern experiment farms. The Black Voronezh variety is uniformly 

 the best. 



Dry-land grain investigations. — The extremely severe drought in 

 the Great Plains, from western North Dakota to western Oklahoma, 

 has given an unusual opportunity the past season for showing the 

 superiority of drought-resistant cereals. The hard winter wheats have 

 done especially well in comparison with the softer varieties, while 

 the Swedish Select oat, the Ghirka spring wheat, and several varie- 

 ties of barley have shown much superiority over other less resistant 

 cereals. The number of experiments to determine the best time and 

 rate of seeding dry-land grains and the best methods of cultivation 

 have been considerably increased. New grain-experiment farms have 

 been established in cooperation with the State stations at Downey, 

 Idaho, and Burns, Oreg. 



Oat investigations. — Experiments for the purpose of developing 

 hardier winter varieties of oats have been continued with still better 

 results. Progress has been made in the development of new strains 

 intended to resist lodging. In hybrids of Sixtj^-Day and Kherson 

 oats with other varieties several strains appear to be smut resistant; 

 some also appear to be more resistant to rust than other varieties. 



The Swedish Select oat, introduced by this department, continues 

 to show its good qualities in the Northern States, about five-eighths 

 of the total crop of Wisconsin, or 50,000,000 bushels annually, being 

 of this variet}'. The Sixty-Day, another introduction, has done 

 equally well in other portions of the countr3\ 



Barley investigations. — Investigations of barley are conducted 

 imder the immediate direction of H. B. Derr and Harry V. Harlan. 

 Experiments with Arlington, the new awnless winter barley, have 

 progressed with considerable success. Seed of this hybrid has been 



