70 



popular in Australia. In New Mexico, where field tests of all his 

 hybrids were last made, Ruby and Felspar are now most extensiyely 

 grown. Blount's No. 10 is much prized in the northern portion of the 

 Pacific coast district, where the yariety Oregon No. 10 is probably 

 identical with it. An important characteristic of several of Blount's 

 hybrids is that they are rather rust resistant and it is partly for this 

 reason that the}' are so much used in Australia. Improved Fife, how- 

 ever, has also an excellent quality of grain. 



One of the very best varieties of this country, standing probably next 

 to Fultz in popularity, is Fulcaster. It was produced in 1886 by S. M. 

 Schindel, of Hagerstown, Md., and is a hybrid between Fultz and 

 Lancaster. This variety is a bearded, semihard, red-grained wheat, 

 considerably resistant to leaf rust and drought. It is grown pretty 

 generally throught the country, but especially in the region from 

 Pennsylvania to Oldahoma, including Tennessee and North Carolina 

 to the southward. 



Recently Professor Saunders, of Canada, has produced a number of 

 new sorts adapted for growing in the Northern States and Canada. 

 Perhaps a half dozen of these — such as Preston, Percy, Dawn, Alpha, 

 Progress, and Countess — are now pretty well known. 



All the hyl)rids just described have been produced, as a rule, in the 

 most simple way; that is, they were the direct result usualh" of crosses 

 between varieties comparatively closely allied. That they have met 

 with so much success, therefore, is convincing evidence that most 

 remarkable results must follow extensive hybridization experiments 

 with this cereal when composite methods are employed with parents 

 selected from wideh^ different varieties. No experiments completely 

 of this nature have been made in this country. 



Composite crossing, however, is practiced by A. N. Jones, of New- 

 ark, N. Y., but always with parents comparatively closely allied. He 

 has without doubt done the most important work in wheat hybridiza- 

 tion in this country. Of all American wheat hj^brids recently pro- 

 duced, Jones's varieties are to-day most widely used. In composite 

 crossing, after one or more regular simple crosses have been made, 

 one hybrid is either crossed with a fixed variety or with another 

 hybrid, and the offspring of this last cross may be again crossed with 

 another fixed yariety or hybrid, and so on. In this way the variations 

 that are always induced eyen in ordinary simple crosses are of course 

 multiplied many fold, giving practically an unlimited chance of select- 

 ing from sporting progeny. The results ol^tained from composite 

 crossing, therefore, even with varieties closely allied, are not to be 

 compared with those from simple crosses. 



Aside from the practice of composite methods, another feature which 

 characterises Jones's work is the tendency he has shown to adhere to a 

 particular aim in all his operations. The Avheats grown in New York 

 and other Eastern States are inclined, on account of the nature of the 



