The Bulletin. 19 



It will be noted that the wheat grain is quite high in protein, 

 fat, and nitrogen-free extract, and thus highly nutritious, while the 

 feeding value of straw is quite low. These tables show the com- 

 position of the ripened grain and straw only and reveal to us that 

 at maturity most of the nutritive value of the plant is collected 

 in the grain, thus rendering the straw of little value as forage. The 

 tables also show that of the nutrients left in the straw only a small 

 percentage of them is digestible. 



ENEMIES OF THE WHEAT CROP. 



The Hessian fly is perhaps the most serious insect pest that at- 

 tacks wheat in this State. To offset its ravages it has been found 

 advisable to sow the crop a little late and after the first frost. There 

 seems to be no known practicable remedy for the prevention of rust, 

 except that of developing rust resistant varieties. Smut may be 

 largely prevented by treatment of the seed before sowing with a 

 solution of formalin. This is done by immersing the seed for thirty 

 minutes in a solution made by mixing one pound, or one pint, of 

 formalin with fifty gallons of water. Before treatment with the 

 formalin immerse the seed in cold water and skim off any smut balls 

 that may rise to the surface. After immersion in the formalin 

 solution spread out the seed and allow them to dry thoroughly before 

 sowing. 



All wheat and other small grain should be treated in this way be- 

 fore sowing. 



II. VARIETY TESTS OF WHEAT. 



There are, perhaps, over two hundred varieties of wheat in the 

 United States to-day. In the case of live stock each breed or strain 

 is developed to meet some special demands; so, also, in plants, in 

 general, a variety is the result of a definite set of environmental 

 conditions that have combined to produce the variations that go to 

 make the new strain. The variety, then, is the result either of 

 changed natural conditions or of effort along lines carefully laid 

 with a view to adapt and adjust strains of plants to new environ- 

 mental conditions. The variety thus developed is, in the nature of 

 the case, adapted to the surroundings where it has been making its 

 best vields. 



In the case of wheat the mere existence of these varieties carries 

 with it the suggestion that they are not all equally well suited to all 

 climatic and soil conditions, and that each one has, doubtless, proven 

 to be the best variety tested in its native locality. We are to assume, 

 then, that these are all good wheats when grown under favorable 

 soil and climatic conditions. Again, since varieties of plants are 

 generally developed in a given locality under given soil and climatic 



