HOWARD AND HOWARD. 23 
Structure of the straw. 
Character of the leaves. 
Form or shape of the ear. 
Character of the spikelets and glumes. 
2 ae! 
Field or agricultural characters are less conspicuous and cannot 
be distinguished in the laboratory or from individual plants. They 
can only be fully appreciated in pure cultures in the field grown side 
by side and under uniform conditions. The erectness of the ear, the 
tone of colour of the chaff and straw are field characters influenced 
less by season and environment than suchagricultural characters 
as the strength and length of straw, earliness and lateness, the 
density of the spikelets and susceptibility to rust. All the above 
are characters of the greatest use and are toa very large extent 
inherited, but the latter group are liable to the effects of environment 
and season. How change of soil, moisture and locality affects them 
has already been dealt with and need not be repeated. 
The consistency of the grain and the brightness of the sample 
are exceedingly variable even in the same locality, and we have not 
used these characters at all in separating sorts. 
In considering the detailed classification of the wheats a 
difficulty is met with on account of the very different meanings 
attached to the various sub-divisions of the species. Such 
terms as variety, sub-variety, race, type, kind, sort are very 
seldom defined and where they are explained it is found that 
different writers use them in very different senses. The best 
discussion of the subject we have found is that given by 
Fruwith." He deals at considerable length and in detail with 
the development of the conception of varieties, and ‘‘ Sorten’’ 
up to the present time. 
We have followed Koernicke’ as to the meaning of the term 
variety. By variety is understood those forms of a sub-species or 
1 Fruwirth, Die Zuchtung der landwirtschaftlichen Kulturpflanzen, Bd. 1. Zweite 
auflage, 1905. 
2 Koernicke, 1. ¢. 
