HOWARD AND HOWARD. 7 
colonies of the Punjab, on inundation water from the previous sum- 
mer, on limited irrigation as in the well-irrigated tracts of the United 
Provinces, and finally, by means of both natural rainfall and irriga- 
tion. The great variation both in the amount and manner in 
which the water is supplied to the soil produces well-marked differ- 
ences in the wheat crop both in the external characters such as length 
and strength of straw and to a greater extent in those characters 
connected with the quality of wheat such as the consistency of the 
grain and the brightness of the sample. 
Accidental variations in the season have a great influence on 
the wheat crop in India. Among these may be mentioned excessive 
wet and cloudy weather just before ripening begins, leading to 
severe rust epidemics and exceptionally early hot spells leading to 
loss of soil moisture and consequent lossof maturity. Frost at the 
period when the grain is coming into earisnot unknown. All these 
vicissitudes have a marked effect on chaff colour, length and density 
of the ear and on straw characters, and influence the wheat plant 
much more than the accidents of the season do in Europe. Conse- 
quently workers on wheat improvement in India have to deal with a 
plant which may not reach its fullest development and may not 
ripen under normal conditions. It appeared, therefore, that a 
critical study of the various characters of wheat in India was most 
desirable with a view of determining how far these characters are 
modified by circumstances and also to decide which are most useful 
in India in distinguishing the varieties met with in the country. 
For this purpose during the last three seasons many different kinds 
of wheat have been grown both at Lyallpur and at Pusa. These 
two places in geographical position and climate represent the extreme 
conditions of the Indian plains. At Lyallpur, the cold weather is 
long and (for India) intense and the wheat is entirely grown with 
canal irrigation, the soil being aheavy loam. At Pusa, the cold 
weather is short, frost is almost unknown and wheats are grown on 
natural rainfall, the soil being a highly calcareous loam. At Lyall- 
pur the air is in general very dry, whereasat Pusa in January and 
February the atmosphere is often damp and heavy dews and mists 
are frequent. 
