Leighty: Carman’s Wheat-Rye Hybrids 
WHEAT-R YE 
This is the first illustration ever published 
ot a wheat-rye hybrid, and represents 
Carman’s own work. It appeared as 
Fig. 339 in the Rural New Yorker on 
August 30, 1884. (Fig. 14.) 
panying descriptions it is seen that the 
heads of eight of the plants produced, 
excepting that plant represented by 
Fig. 339 which will be considered later, 
differed from each other (1) in awn 
length, some having very short awns 
like the mother plant, others consider- 
ably longer awns, although none could 
421 
be considered as fully bearded; (2) in 
color of chaff, some having white, others 
brown chaff; (3) in size and color of 
kernels produced—this, however, may 
be due to difference in maturity; (4) in 
straw color, some having lead-colored, 
others golden-colored straw. These 
eight plants were in later accounts 
referred to as “‘those from the fertile 
plants of the original cross” and ‘‘the 
eight original plants resembling wheat 
(or the female parent) more than rye,”’ 
while the remaining plant, Fig. 339 
(reproduced herewith, Fig. 14) is 
referred to as “‘the nearly sterile plant”’ 
or the plant which ‘most resembled 
tye. 
The best of the heads produced by 
these plants were selected for further 
growing. “The plot of about one- 
twentieth of an acre’’ where these were 
grown ‘‘presented the next season when 
the heads appeared, as varied an appear- 
ance as if kernels of all the most dissim- 
ilar wheats in cultivation had been 
sown.” Among forms appearing were 
club-shaped and tapering heads, bearded 
and beardless heads, while the straw 
was yellow, dark brown or purplish. 
The size of heads, number of kernels 
produced, and size of kernels all were 
variable. 
NO TRACE OF THE RYE 
After careful examination of the 
available records and illustrations there 
appears to the writer no evidence that 
in these eight plants or in their progeny 
there existed any trace of rye. It is 
further apparent to one familiar with 
wheat-rye hybrids and with hybrids 
between different varieties of wheat 
that these eight kernels, supposed to 
have developed as the result of the fer- 
tilization of emasculated wheat flowers 
with rye pollen, must have actually 
resulted from fertilizations of wheat 
flowers with wheat pollen. How this 
fertilization occurred in a head suppos- 
edly emasculated before its pollen was 
ripe is not known, but there are several 
possibilities, among which is this: If, 
as seems probable, worsted was used to 
wrap the head after emasculation, wheat 
pollen may have sifted through this 
from other flowers nearby. It is well 
