102 



Report on Spring-soion Wheats in 1873. 



as late as March. Essex white is the favourite variety, heing short-strawed 

 and coming to maturity very quickly. There was a large breadth of land 

 put in with the bearded April wheat sown in March ; and a considerable 

 quantity of our turnip lands are grown with this wheat every year, as it may 

 be put in as late as the 14th of April, and sometimes good yields are had, but 

 it is very uncertain. It is seldom more than a week later at harvest than the 

 autumn-sown. I sell the bulk of my wheat for seed. I seldom grow my 

 own seed two years together on my own farm. I get it sometimes from the 

 north of Scotland, and sometimes from off the chalk and the south. If many 

 of my brother farmers only knew the value of selected seed and the great- 

 advantage of seed from a distance, they w'ould practise it more. The straw is 

 brighter and stronger, and the grain of finer quality. Last year I grew a new 

 white-chafled variety from Mr. Scholey, called Square-headed (Fig. 3), which, for 



Fig. 3. — Square-lie aded 

 Wheat. 



Fig. 4. — Collard's 

 Bed Wheat. 



Fig. 6. — Hallett's 

 Pedigree Wheat. 



%.. 



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Front. 



prolificness, strength of straw, and quality of grain, surpassed all others. I had 

 three friends come over before harvest to inspect it growing, two havmg taken 

 some years ago the 30Z. prize given by the Duke of Kutland for the best culti- 



