838 EXPERIMENT STATION" RECORD. [Vol.38 



soil, fertilizers, crop rotations, and preparation of the seed ; the availability 

 of seed stocks, and approved control measures for the principal insects and 

 diseases attacking the wheat crop. 



The value of rye as a substitute for wheat under certain soil and climatic 

 conditions and possible uses of the crop are noted, and increases in rye produc- 

 tion in the United States reviewed. 



The control of wheat by the Food Administration, and the fixing of wheat 

 prices at primary markets in 1917 and in 1918 are also noted. 



Experiments with durum wheat, C. R. Ball and J. A. Claek {U. S. Dept. 

 Agr. Bui. 618 (1918), pp. 64, Jlffs. 13). — The authors discuss the history of durum 

 wheat in the United States, the agronomic adaptation of the crop, statistics of 

 production, the characters and relationships which mark the durum wheats as 

 distinct from the common wheats, and present the results of all the principal 

 variety tests with durum wheat conducted in this country during the period 

 1895 to 191G, inclusive, together with the results of two experiments made in 

 Canada. 



The work comprises an assemblage of the principal accumulated experimental 

 data from 30 field stations, many of which are here published for the first 

 time, while some have appeared previously in publications cited. The investi- 

 gations have been made cooperatively and independently by this Department 

 and by the State experiment stations. The stations from which the data were 

 obtained are grouped as follows : Subhumid Prairie States, including Mcpher- 

 son and Manhattan, Kans. ; Ames, Iowa ; Brookings, S. Dak. ; Fargo, N. Dak. ; 

 Lincoln, Nebr. ; Ashland, Wis. ; and St. Paul and Crookston, Minn. ; the Great 

 Plains or semiarid area, including Hays, Kans. ; Highmore, Eureka, and Newell, 

 S. Dak. ; Dickinson, Edgeley, Laugdon, and Williston, N. Dak. ; Moccasin. 

 Mont. ; Arcber, Wyo. ; Amarillo, Tex. ; Akron, Colo. ; North Platte. Nebr. ; Bran- 

 don, Man. ; and Indian Head, Sask. ; and the basin and coast or arid area of 

 the far West, including Neplii, Utah; Aberdeen, Idaho; Burns and Moro, Oreg. ; 

 and Modesto and Chico, Cal. The results obtained in the variety tests are 

 presented in tabular form and discussed in detail, and the yields of the durum 

 wheats are compared with those of standard common wheats grown at each 

 station. The detailed presentation of these data are briefly summarized as 

 follows : 



For the nine stations in the subhumid prairie area, it is concluded that " in 

 general, the durum wheats are not adapted to the humid conditions often obtain- 

 ing in the eastern part of this area, but they do comparatively well in the sub- 

 humid northwestern part. In the southern part of the prairie area, which in- 

 cludes the eastern portions of Kansas and Nebraska, neitlier durum nor common 

 spring wheats do well. Wherever the hard red winter wheats of the Crimean 

 group can be grown they greatly outyield any spring wheat. In the northeastern 

 portion of this area, under the conditions obtaining at Ashland, Wis., and St. 

 Paul, Minru, winter wheat is reaching the northern limits of its present culture, 

 and is not so outstandingly superior. The durum wheats are equal in yield to 

 some of the common wheats and poorer than others. The value of the durums 

 will depend on the quality of their grain and the need which exists for their 

 rust resistance. In the northwestern portion of this area, including the western 

 part of Minnesota and the eastern parts of the Dakotas, the durum wheats have 

 a much higher comparative value. They largely outyield the spring common 

 wheats and nearly equal winter wheat in the districts where it can be grown at 

 all. Of the varieties of durum wheat tested Arnautka is best adapted for grow- 

 ing in western Minnesota and the eastern portions of the Dakotas." 



The summarized results from 1.5 stations in the Great Plains area are thought 

 to support the following conclusions ; " Durum wheats produce very well in all 



