316 
Wheat branches only at the ground, and produces no more heads than 
stalks. It only sends out these branches early in its growth or dur- 
ing cool weather and when the growth is comparatively slow. The 
branching of wheat (called “ tillering ” in the Old World, and “ stock- 
ing,” “ stooling,” and “ tillering” in different sections of this) must 
take place before the plant attains any considerable height or it does 
not occur at all. Hence, in climates like those of the Northern and 
Eastern States this takes place mostly in the spring, and a cool, pro- 
ionged, and rather wet spring is therefore best for the ultimate ‘yield 
*of the crop; the grain then stands heavier on the ground. On the 
contrary, a warm, “rather dry, rapidly growing, and early spring in 
those parts of the country diminishes the yield of wheat, because of 
this habit of growth; there are then fewer stalks, and the heads are 
fewer. Consequently, when from the nature of the season or the 
general climate of the region there is an undue tendency for the 
wheat to shoot up without “sufficient branching it is common to check 
the growth by pasturing off the grain in the early spring, as is a 
common prac tice in many of the Southern States. 
In a country of cold winters, for good crops it is better that the 
ground be continuously covered with snow. Bare ground, freezing 
and thawing, now exposed to cold and dry winds and now to warin 
sunshine, is exceedingly destructive to wheat. It “ winter-kills” in 
two ways—what may be frozen to death by cold, dry winds, or, as s 
more often the ease, particularly on soils rich in vegetable matter, 
“heaves out,” and by the alternate freezing and thawing of the sur- 
face soil the roots are lifted out of the soil and the young plant 
perishes. The means of guarding against this or of lessening the 
danger will be spoken of later. 
After the wheat comes in head more sun is needed and less rain. 
Too much rain, particularly if accompanied with heat, induces rust, 
mildew, and other diseases, and, on the other hand, too dry winds 
shrink the grain. 
The ideal climate for wheat is one with a long and rather wet 
winter, with little or no frost, prolonged into a cool and rather wet 
spring, which gradually fades into a warmer summer, the weather 
growing gradually drier as it grows warmer, with only comparatively 
light rains after the blossoming of the crop, just enough to bring the 
grain to maturity, with abundant sunshine and rather ‘dry air toward 
the harvest, but without dry and scorching winds until the grain is 
fully ripe, and then hot, dry, rainless we: ather until the harvest is 
oathered. This ideal is nearer realized in the better years in Cali- 
fornia than in any part of the United States, and it is there in such 
vears that we find the greatest yields known to the country. 
The quality of the grain is largely determined by the climate, a 
hot, dry, and sunny harvest time being best for wheat of the first 
grade. The berry is then brighter, and ‘millers say the quality is bet- 
ter if the climate has been hot and dry before the harvest. The 
wheat of sunny climates—those of California, Egypt, northern Africa, 
and similar countries—has always ranked high for quality, and 
the statement is often made that ‘the wheat of such climates is also 
richer in gluten—that is, makes stronger flour—than the wheat of 
cooler climates. Of this latter assertion I find no proof from the mod- 
ern and fuller chemical analyses. The chemical composition depends 
