18 VARIETAL CHARACTERS OF INDIAN WHEATS. 
wheats were grown in pure culture next to next under uniform 
conditions and were sown at the same time and at the same seed 
rate. This was done for two years and at each harvest the 
wheats differed markedly in length and strength of straw and in 
time of maturity, and we had no doubt that we were dealing with 
two different agricultural types. 
5. LEAF CHARACTERS. 
~ The leaves of the three sub-species are quite distinct. The 
macaroni wheats have very large leaves, the dwarf wheats short 
and erect foliage, while the common wheats are intermediate in 
this respect. The leaves of the various types differ both in 
colour and in the degree of hairiness, but these characters were not 
found necessary for distinguishing the types and were not studied 
in any great detail. There seemed to be a distinct relation- 
ship between the water requirements of some of the sorts and the 
extent and character of the leaf surface, but we have so far had no 
opportunity of following out this point. The dwarf wheats appear 
to be able to mature with little moisture, while the macaroni wheats 
and also type No. 9 require more water to reach maturity than the 
other Punjab common wheats. On account of the importance of 
irrigation in wheat-growing in the Punjab, it appears desirable to 
work out in detail the water requirements of the various kinds when 
grown under the conditions of ordinary cultivation. 
6. EARLINESS AND LATENESS. 
The relative earliness and lateness of varieties in India is not 
easy to determine with precision. It is a character which is very 
apt to be masked by the result of differences in soil moisture. The 
wheat crop in India is so exceedingly sensitive to small differences 
in soil moisture that a small change of level in a plot is sufficient to 
make a considerable difference in the time of ripening. This cha- 
racter must therefore only be used when the varieties are grown next 
to next in uniform soil and under uniform conditions. In one of our 
plots of macaroni wheat at Lyallpur in 1908 one-half was quite green 
while the other half was ripening off, the level of the unripe end 
