468 



EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Of 4S varieties of wlieat test('(l for several years, not more than are considered 

 first class. The results for the (1 leading; varieties are snniinarizt'd in tlir following 

 table: 



Jicaiillx irilli nirii'tics (if v'lnicr irlieat. 



These varieties ripened June 10 and 11. Poole is the onlj- variety brought into the 

 State which is recommended for general culture. The yield of straw in 1903 was 

 heavy, and the varieties given above were among the heaviest producers, Poole lead- 

 ing all varieties. The lowest average yield of the varieties tested for 4 years was 

 24.11 bu. per acre. Some of the reasons given for low yields in the State are disre- 

 gard of rotation, improper preparation of the seed bed, deficiency of vegetable mate- 

 rial in the soil, late seeding, and growing unsuitable varieties. 



The number of grains per ounce in the varieties tested varied from 589 for Red Cross 

 to 1,068 for No. 5342, a foreign variety furnished by this Department. The average 

 number of grains per head ranged from 15.58 in Velvet Chaff to 34.86 in Mealey. 

 This last mentione<l variety contained 1,016 grains per ounce, and ranked first in 

 relative hardness. 



The protein content of the varieties was high, the lowest, 13.19 per cent, being 

 found in Dawson Golden C'haff. The influence of the season on the jirotein content 

 is shown by the fact that Wood Hybrid, one of many examples, contained 21.92, 

 13.77, 15.74, and 15 jier cent in 1900, 1901, 1902, and 1903, respectively. The protein 

 was highest when the rainfall was somewhat deficient during the ripening period, 

 but it was not materially affected by fertilizer or soil treatment. 



The relative values of these varieties of winter wheat for the production of flour and 

 bread were determined and compared with these of standard wheats grown in Ken- 

 tucky, Ohio, Oklahoma, Minnesota, and Ontario. The percentage of flour was 

 found to be high in Tennessee wheat. Fulcaster ranged in this respect from 70 to 

 75 per cent and averaged 73.4 per cent. There was considerable variation in the dif- 

 ferent wheats, Ijut leading varieties from other sectionsof the country were not reduced 

 in flour content when grown in Tennessee, and some of the varieties regarded as 

 inferior for the State were as high in flour content as the leading varieties. 



The ash content of the Tennessee sami)les, although showing wide differences, did 

 not vary more than in the other samples, and is regarded in general as being very 

 high. The Tennessee wheat also showed a very satisfactory gluten content, being 

 below 10 per cent in only 2 instances, generally over 11 per cent, and in a large 

 number of cases over 13 per cent. Fulcaster and Mediterranean stood high in this 

 particular, as did also Kansas Mortgage Lifter, Blue Straw Fultz, Perfection, Early 

 Ripe, Rice "Wheat, and others. The leading Tennessee varieties yielded as much 

 gluten as Turkey Red or the Minnesota hard spring wheats, and nuich more than 

 the soft wheats, such as Early Genesee Giant and Dawson Golded Chaff. The 

 absorptive capacity of the Tennessee flours was equal or superior to that of standard 

 varieties grown in other sections of the country. In Fulcaster the absorptive capac- 

 ity ranged from 60 to 62, and in Poole and Mediterranean it also ranked well. The 



