LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 



U. S. Department of Agriculture, 



Bureau of Plant Industry, 



Office of the Chief, 

 Washington, B.C., February 28, 1910. 



Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith a paper entitled 

 "Improvement of the Wheat Crop in California," by Mr. Henry F. 

 Blanchard, Assistant Agronomist in the Office of Grain Investiga- 

 tions, and recommend its publication as Bulletin No. 178 of the 

 series of this Bureau. 



For many years there has been a steady deterioration in the wheat 

 crop of California, due to two general causes, (1) bad methods in farm 

 practice and (2) a lack of varieties adapted to that region. The 

 Office of Grain Investigations, of this Bureau, has investigated these 

 conditions for about five years, during a part of which time the work 

 has been in cooperation with the state experiment station at Berk- 

 eley, Cal. Besides observations on many farms and other investiga- 

 tions, experiments in methods of cultivation and adaptation of 

 varieties have been conducted in detail at two points, Davis and 

 Modesto. The accompanying paper gives briefly some of the results 

 of investigations, to date, along these lines. 



Respectfully, 



G. H. Powell, 



Acting Chief of Bureau. 



Hon. James Wilson, 



Secretary of Agriculture. 

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