EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 509 



Michigan Crop Improvement Association it is possible to buy seed grain 

 in any quantity and of known quality. 



One big problem in connection with selecting a variety for any 

 particular section is that of standardization. This is particularly true 

 vv'ith certain crops. Marquis spring wheat is practically the standard 

 v/heat variety of the Upper Peninsula. Oderbrucker and Wisconsin 

 I'ed-igree are the standard barley varieties of this area. On the other 

 hand, oat and field pea varieties are not so well standardized. An in- 

 quiry in any particular farming community will usually disclose the 

 fact that there are nearly as many varieties of oats and peas as there 



are growers. 



STANDARDIZE ON A FEW VARIETIES. 



The time will probably never come when only one variety of the 

 various crops will be the standard of the State. Neither is it necessary, 

 however desirable, to standardize on a comparatively few varieties of 

 each crop in a section like the Upper Peninsula. In so far as possible, 

 however, only one variety of each crop should be grown in one" com- 

 munity. 



The advantages of standardization are: 1, the danger of mixing 

 varieties by use of the community threshing machine is lessened; 2, if 

 a surplus is produced in the community, there is usually a better mar- 

 ket for a standard product in quantity than for smaller lots of many 

 varieties; 3, if a particular variety has special merit for a given com- 

 munity, all the growers in that community will benefit by it ; 4, it makes 

 possible a community co-operative crop test to determine the best 

 varieties. 



Varieties of Small Grains Recommended for the Upper Peninsula. 



SPRING wheat. 



Experimental work at the Upper Peninsula Experiment Station 

 and notes made by the various agricultural workers throughout the 

 Upper Peninsula, indicate that spring wheat is subject to black stem 

 rust. There is no known control for this disease nor are there any 

 resistant spring wheat varieties of sufficient commercial value to war- 

 rant their use under Upper Peninsula conditions. There are local areas 

 especially in the Superior clay districts, where the epidemics of this 

 disease are not as serious and spring wheat may be a profitable crop. 



Marquis is the best adapted spring wheat for the areas where it can 

 be grown. 



OATS. 



Wolverine — This is a pedigreed strain developed by Professor F. A. 

 Spragg, of the Michigan Experiment Station, at East Lansing. Experi- 

 mental work at Chatham and co-operative tests throughout the Upper 

 Peninsula have demonstrated this variety to be a consistent high pro- 

 ducer. It is an open panicle white oat. 



Worthy — This is another pedigreed strain developed by Professor F. 

 A. Spragg. It is also an open panicle white oat, especially well adapted 

 to heavy soils because of its stiff; straw which lessens its likelihood of 

 lodging. 



