ORANGE LEAF KUST OF WHEAT. 35 



]!^o rust was observed at Cheyenne Wells, either ou the varieties from 

 the Department or ou any others tested at that station in 1897. Tlie 

 atmosi)here at that phice is exceedingly dry, but nevertheless attempts 

 are being made to grow crops without irrigation. 



The held experiments described have thrown much light on another 

 problem of even greater practical importance than the liability of 

 varieties to orange leaf rust; that is, the comparative adaptability of 

 tlie ditierent sorts and varieties to the conditions of our wheat regions. 

 However, this question does not properly belong in these pages and 

 consequently must be discussed in another place. 



Besides the experiments above reported, certain observations have 

 been made by others in this country on the rust resistance of different 

 varieties of wheat, especially as regards the orange leaf rust, and a 

 few will be mentioned here. According to Pammel (55, p. 500), the 

 following varieties were badly rusted at the Iowa Experiment Station 

 in 1889: Fife, Black Sea, White Fife, Manitoba Fife, (lolden (Hobe, and 

 Lost Nation. Velvet Chaff and Blue Stem were slightly rusted, but 

 Saskatchewan ''showed little tendency to rust." He also states that 

 in 1890 all the spring wheat was more or less severely injured by rust, 

 and that some of the varieties were entirely worthless, but that rust 

 did but little injury to the ibilowing winter wheats: Turkish Wheat, 

 Golden Cross, Red Fultz, Ontario, New Monarch, Fulcaster, and Deitz 

 Longberry. "The Turkish Wheat yielded I'l bushels.'" 



Latta (45, p. 87) in 1892 reported, by percentages, the proportion of 

 stalks rusted in various sorts at the Indiana Agricultural Experiment 

 Station, and named Jones Winter Fife and Willitts as being rusted 

 100 per cent and Early Amber as rusted only 10 per cent. Latta and 

 Ives (40, p. 02) in 1894 found in the same way that 100 i^er cent of the 

 stalks of the following varieties were rusted: Fulcaster, Velvet Chaff 

 (white bearded). Red Clawson, Rochester Red, Beal, Johnson, Willitts, 

 Jones American Bronze, New Monarch, and Early Genesee Giant; but 

 only 20 per cent of the stalks of Ohio Blue Stem and Nigger were 

 rusted. These estimates of course do not give the actual degree of 

 rustiness. In 1892 Georgeson, Burtis, and Shelton (30, pp. 14-50) pub- 

 lished notes on rustiness of over 200 varieties grown at the Kansas 

 Agricultural Experiment Station farm. The varieties which remt^ined 

 quite free from rust were Arnolds Hybrid, Currell, Oregon Club, and 

 Siberian. Those "very badly rusted" were Centennial, Red Fultz, 

 Roscoe, Walker, Wayne County Select, and Wintergreen. 



Prof. W. M. Hays has been doing much work for several years in 

 breeding and improving wheat varieties at the Minnesota Agricultural 

 Experiment Station, and during that time has made notes on the degree 

 of rustiness of different sorts. He has kindly given the Avriter permis- 

 sion to use some of his notes for the year 1897, which are as follows:^ 

 The highest per cent of rustiness, according to these notes, was 35 in 

 case of Ladoga and the lowest 7 in the case of Glyndon No. 761. The 



> The percentages of rustiness are in all cases means of two estimates made by 

 Professor Hays and an assistant. 



