WHEAT. 267 



the Gold Drop, with chaff of a reddish tinge like the Black Sea, whille the kernels were larger, 

 plumper, and of a lighter color .than the latter, and resembling the Gold Drop, the plant 

 being very vigorous and the heads of superior length, supposed to be due in part to the cross 

 ing and part to superior cultivation. This seed was sown the second spring in drills apart 

 from other varieties, and, to the surprise of the careful hybridizer, the plants appeared of every 

 grade between the two parent varieties, but, by selecting a few of the most promising heads 

 of similar characteristics, and continuing these experiments for four years, he succeeded in 

 producing several varieties of a fixed character, the most marked and valuable of which was 

 the &quot; Champlain.&quot; 



In 1871, Mr. Pringle began another cross between the common Club wheat and one of the 

 varieties from the Pacific coast, which, after similar experiments and selection, resulted in the 

 fine type of the Defiance. These two varieties, hybridized by Mr. Pringle, were brought out 

 through the energetic firm of B. K Bliss & Sons of New York city, and their merits soon 

 made known to the farmers generally We learn from Rees that several of the formerly pop 

 ular English wheats were produced by a gentleman at Bradfield, who, walking one day in his 

 wheat-field, was impressed with the variety of colors which the different blossoms of the grain 

 assumed, and, after careful examination, concluded that these different hues were signs of 

 certain specific differences in the character of the wheat, and accordingly selected the heads 

 of colors unlike, and marked eleven distinct varieties. When these were ripe, he gathered 

 them, and planted them separately the following year. The same characteristic differences 

 continued to be seen in the product, and after another year s effort in experimenting, three 

 new and valuable varieties were the result, which were more productive and earlier to ripen 

 than any known previous to that time. 



It is stated by good authority, that American wheat contains more gluten than English, 

 and that produced in the Southern States, more than that in the Northern; and as gluten is an 

 element which imparts to flour the quality that is termed by bakers &quot;strength&quot; and which 

 enables it to absorb a large quantity of water when made into bread, consequently in an equal 

 number of pounds of flour possessing a greater and less per cent, of gluten, the quantity pos 

 sessing the largest per cent, of this material will make proportionally the largest quantity of 

 bread ; hence, it has been asserted that while fourteen pounds of American flour will make 

 twenty-one and a half pounds of bread, the same quantity of English flour will make only 

 eighteen and a half pounds. Of course, different varieties of wheat will differ in the pro 

 portion of gluten furnished, but, as a general rule, other considerations being equal, the dryer 

 or warmer the climate in which the grain is raised, the greater is the evaporation, and the 

 more condensed is the flour of the grain, and consequently the more moisture it is capable of 

 absorbing. There is considerable difference in the productive, as well as other qualities of 

 the many varieties of wheat, and it is, of course, well for the farmer to endeavor to select the 

 best that is adapted to his soil and climate ; but the kind to be sown is not more essential than 

 the thorougn preparation of the land to receive it, since no variety, however good, would 

 thrive except the soil be first well prepared. The important question as to how may the 

 increase of wheat per acre be accomplished may therefore be answered in the following 

 manner: by better tillage, by improving the soil, and by sowing better seed. 



Preparation of Soil for Wheat. There is scarcely any crop that requires more 

 thorough and careful preparation of soil for successful results than wheat, yet having once 

 obtained a vigorous start, it grows very rapidly under favoring circumstances, although it is 

 not as hardy as some other of the cultivated grains. It is partial to a very fertile soil, its 

 cultivation usually being most successful in rich clays or heavy loams, although many light 

 soils, when in proper condition, will produce a good yield. Lands for wheat should never be 

 too wet, and when an excess of moisture exists it should be obviated by a good system of 

 drainage, for unless this is done, the crop suffers by being heaved out by the frosts in win- 



