DISCOVERY OF MARQUIS WHEAT 235 



Mr. Burbaiik, in support of the claims which he makes 

 for Quality, publishes the results of a chemical analysis 

 and of a baking test of the flour, and for the rest leaves 

 us to rely upon his reputation for producing new and use- 

 ful plants. But Mr. Burbank is only just beginning his 

 work as an introducer of new wheats and the writer can- 

 not help feeling that in penning his advertisement of 

 Quality he allowed his enthusiasm for his new cereal to 

 be mixed a little too freely with his ink. Every one knows 

 that Marquis is a hard wheat, but when Mr. Burbank tells 

 us that Quality which has been selected from it, has ker- 

 nels " with about the same specific gravity as granite," 

 surely he is addressing us in the language of hyperbole. 

 Of two equal-sized sacks, one filled with Quality wheat 

 and the other with crushed granite, which would the reader 

 prefer to carry, were he obliged to make a choice ? 



Mr. Burbank tells us that Quality is " suited for all 

 climates wherever wheat can be grown, as a Summer wheat 

 in cold far Northern climates and as a Winter crop in 

 the United States and most wheat growing countries " ; 

 and all this we are supposed to accept on Mr. Burbank's 

 unsupported ipse dixit. He is silent in regard to the 



Quantity is thus described : " It is a tremendous yielder, having 

 long, drooping, well-filled heads laden with extra large, fat, light- 

 colored berries. My small field of Quantity has been the wonder and 

 surprise of the season. It has a stiff four-foot straw which stands 

 up bravely with its long, heavy, well-filled heads averaging on ordi- 

 nary soils five to six and sometimes seven inches in length. No 

 good wheat yields more than Quantity. It is remarkably true to 

 type and yields nearly twice as much as the ordinary wheats. 

 Quantity is medimn early and will prove its tremendous yielding 

 abilities in any except the most Northern latitude." This brief 

 description contains no statement as to whether Quantity is hard or 

 soft, a spring variety or a fall one, and it contains no reference to 

 milling and baking qualities, shelling, disease resistance, and so 

 forth. Su2)er wheat was offered this year at $3 for 1 pound, $18 for 

 10 pounds, etc.; but no more seed is just now available as the stock 

 which was on hand has all been sold. 



