20 The Bulletin. 



conditions, it follows that they will make as good, if not better, yields 

 when propagated under soil and climatic conditions similar to those 

 under which they have been developed. Now if there be a probability 

 that varieties of wheat will make better yields in their native en- 

 vironments than elsewhere, it follows that the adaptability of the many 

 different varieties put on the market should be tested. If any of them 

 are well suited to the climate and soils of our State it is worth our 

 while to know it. Should they not be adapted to our conditions, 

 such knowledge is a necessary protection against loss. The only 

 way to gain this knowledge is to subject these wheats to a rigid test 

 on our soils. The recommendations of the seedsmen are not to be 

 relied upon, since they never know whether the environment in which 

 the variety has been developed is similar to the one in which you 

 will be forced to grow it. 



With a view to protect the farmer against the frauds of un- 

 scrupulous seedsmen and originators on the one hand, and to ascer- 

 tain the varieties best suited to the soils of the State on the other, 

 the State Department of Agriculture began, in 1900, to collect wheat 

 varieties from different parts of the world and to subject them to a 

 rigid test on the recognized wheat soils of the State. Since then 

 over thirty different varieties have been collected and tested — some 

 for longer, others for shorter periods. 



The reader will bear in mind that in any given year all of the 

 varieties tested were subjected to identical soil and climatic condi- 

 tions at the different farms and received identical treatment as to 

 fertilization and previous preparation of land. 



COMMENTS ON VARIETY TESTS OF WHEAT. 



Wheats have been tested at the Edgecombe farm but one year, 

 1901. The soil on this farm is known as the Norfolk sandy loam. 

 It has a gray surface soil from ten to twelve inches deep composed 

 of a medium sand, fine sand, silt and clay. Scattered here and there 

 over the farm are irregular areas of the Norfolk fine sandy loam 

 which has, as the name indicates, a heavier texture than the former. 

 The subsoil of both these types is a yellow sandy to fine sandy loam, 

 carrying about 25 per cent clay. It is thus fairly retentive of moist- 

 ure and serves as a good foundation on which to build up a good soil. 



Table No. IV shows the results of the tests on this farm in 1901. 

 During this year ten different varieties were tested, of which Red 

 May, Purple Straw and Early Arcadian were the three highest 

 yielders. 



Most of the tests of wheat varieties have been made at the Ire- 

 dell farm, where the soils seem better adapted to wheat culture and 

 not so well suited to the growth of such crops as make their best 



