51 



l)ioportionally rather long-. In the variety Arnautka the grains are 

 ahnost or fully as large as those of Polish wheat, and are sometimes 

 actually mistaken for the latter. 



The varieties of this group are generally best known as the durums. 

 In Europe they are often called, and correctly so, simply hard wheats. 

 They are the hardest-grained wheats that are known. The Fifes, 

 Velvet Blue Stem, Turkey, and others of that class usually called hard 

 wdieats in this country are not, strictly speaking, hard wheats at all 

 when compared with these. On account of the resemblance of the 

 heads of these wheats to those of barley they are sometimes called 

 barley wheats or Gerstenimizen. 



Durum wheats are particularly sensitive to changes of environment, 

 and quickly deteriorate when grown in a soil or climate to which they 

 are not well adapted. Such a change of conditions may be encountered, 

 too, within the distance of a few miles. For example, it is well under- 

 stood in south Russia that the excellent variety Arnautka gives the 

 best results only when grown within a very limited area bordering 

 the Sea of Azov. So also the best Kubanka is found east of the Volga 

 on the border of the Kirghiz Steppes. In the Caucasus this variety 

 has actually developed into a red winter wheat, though the original 

 is a yellowish-white spring wheat. 



The durum group furnishes the great bulk of the world's supply of 

 macaroni wheat, though a considerable amount of these pastes is made 

 from poulard and Polish varieties and a still smaller proportion from 

 the common bread wheats. There is now not the least doubt that 

 some if not all these durum sorts used for macaroni can be successfully 

 grown in this country, thus adding immensely to the profits of our 

 wheat industry. The success that has attended the trials of the variety 

 Nicaragua in Texas has already conclusively proved the point. At the 

 same time the idea that these wheats can not be successfully used for 

 bread has never yet been shown to be more than mere assumption. Sev- 

 eral mills in this country have successfully ground them, and i n southern 

 Russia, where milling has developed to a high degree of perfection, it 

 is no longer an experiment. In that i-egion durum wheat has become 

 actually the most popular for bread making, though it is usually mixed 

 with a small per cent of ordinary red wheat before grinding. In France 

 there is an increasing demand for durum wheats for all ])urposes. 



Durum wheats are adapted for soils rather rich in nitrogenous 

 matter but somewhat alkaline, and give the best results in a very hot, 

 dry climate. They are, theri>fore, quite drought resistant. Almost 

 all varieties are adapted only for spring growing except in mild lati- 

 tudes. Tii<> young plants both of this group and the poulard group 

 arc very light green in color at tirst and grow up rapidly. They are 

 grown in Spain (where they predominate over all other groups) and 

 other Mediterranean countries, in south and east Russia, Asia Minor, 



