Farmers^ Week in Agricultural College. 139 



but it is true of the remainder of the State. As hard wheat turns 

 softer there appears in it large numbers of yellow berries, which, when 

 ground with the rest, give a yellow color to the flour that is very ob- 

 jectionable; consequently such wheat is always quoted lower on the 

 market in this State than the softer red winter class. 



The Ohio station also made 342 tests of bearded wheat, which 

 averaged 25.9 bushels per acre, and 418 trials of beardless wheat, which 

 gave 26.4 bushels per acre. Here again it is to be noted that there is 

 not much difference in the yields. It has been noted, though, that 

 beardless varieties do not have quite as great a tendency to lodge as 

 bearded ones, but a greater tendency to rust. The bearded varieties 

 generally have harder grains and weigh heavier than beardless ones. 

 They also sprout more in the shock. 



In some localities winter killing is also an important item to be 

 considered in successful wheat growing. Just how a variety will stand 

 the winter depends largely on its manner of growth. Certain varieties 

 are characterized by a narrow, dark green, nearly purple colored leaf, 

 which in the fall never grows high, but clings to the ground. Such 

 varieties are unifonnly hardy and in the main good yielders. Rudy, 

 Nigger and Winter King are examples of such varieties. Most wheats, 

 however, have a more upright habit of growth and are more suscepti- 

 ble to the old and freezing and thawing of an open winter and the 

 early springs. Still, we have among these varieties many which have 

 adapted themselves to our conditions and can be depended upon. 



Taking all things into consideration, then, the successful produc- 

 tion of wheat is in the first place dependent upon the variety grown. 

 In making his selection every farmer must weigh his conditions, soil, 

 climate, and the experience of his neighbors. For bottom lands the 

 VaUey, Egyptian, Nigger, and Rudy are well adapted. For uplands 

 ]\Iealy, Early Ripe, Fultz, Fulcaster, Michigan Amber, INIediterranean, 

 Nigger, and Rudy are all good. 



Another factor to be considered in wheat growing is the Hessian 

 fly. This insect at one time nearly ruined the wheat industry, so that 

 now our farmers say when we begin again to grow wheat how can this 

 pest be controlled. In spite of the fact that they have been so trouble- 

 some, the fly can be pretty well controlled. There are two broods of 

 them, a spring and a fall brood. The fall brood is migratory, and it is 

 the one to be handled. The spring brood will hardly leave the field 

 where hatched, so that if the eggs of the fall brood could be destroyed 

 no farmer need be troubled by the fly in the spring. This can easily 

 be done by sowing late or by sowing a narrow strip of two or three 

 drill widths wide early — from August 1 to 15 — along one side of the 



