72 



ingly in various ways the effects of composite crossing, especially 

 exhibiting- great improvement in vigor. 



In the production of Diamond Grit (Plate IX) and Bearded Winter 

 Fife, Jones has most nearly approached the wheats of the Plains States 

 in gluten content. The former is a direct cross of Jones's Winter Fife 

 with Early Genesee Giant, and is a bearded, white-chaffed, semihard, 

 red-grained variety. Bearded Winter Fife is descended from the Win- 

 ter Fife as one parent, but is hardier and possesses a grain of better 

 quality. Another hybrid which shows well the advantages of a good 

 ancestry is Early Arcadian (Plate IX). It is a bald, red-chaffed 

 variety, with club and square-shaped heads and light amber grain, and 

 is a direct cross of Early Genesee Giant with Early Red Clawson. It 

 is very productive and of even growth in the field. 



But even the method of composite crossing, productive as it is of 

 valuable results, if practiced only with varieties closely allied, as just 

 described, leaves still lacking some important sources for obtaining 

 more rapidly and surely the improvements desired. For anything like 

 perfect attainment of certain qualities it is necessary to practice com- 

 posite crossing with varieties of t-ntirely different wheat groups^ a prac- 

 tice which, so far as known to the writer, has only been carried out to 

 any great extent by John Garton, of Newton-le-Willows, England, and 

 William Farrer, of New South Wales. In all the experiments in this 

 country at most but two wheat groups have been drawn from, the 

 common and club wheat groups. But by combining the composite 

 method with the selection of varieties from widely different groups not 

 only are the number of variations induced again multiplied many fold 

 over those induced by the composite method in the same group, but 

 the deo-ree of variation also is much increased. Certain qualities may 

 be obtained in this way that would otherwise even probably not be 

 secured at all. For example, to secure the quality of nonshattering 

 completely it will probably be imperative to introduce it from the spelt 

 or emmer group, while satisfactory resistance to leaf rust must be 

 obtained by crossing with the durums. Besides the direct advantages 

 of increased and multiplied variations induced through selection of 

 parents from different groups for any particular district one is thereby 

 able also to produce sorts adapted for other very different districts, 

 thus allowing his work to be of much wider usefulness. Thus after 

 the production of Jones's Winter Fife, which has been so popular in 

 the Eastern and North Central States, the introduction of the spelt ele- 

 ment, without loss of other qualities, might have made it of even greater 

 value for the Palouse country, where it is very much desired, but can 

 not be used because of its shattering. 



The wheat plant being so closely self -fertile, there is within it, lying 

 dormant, a wonderful power to vary (a power far greater than in plants 

 cross-fertilized in nature), which is thrown into action when different 



