CEREAL IMPROVEMENT INTRODUCTIONS 161 



of good milling quality. It is fairly resistant to rust, and 

 was supposed to resist the attacks of the Hessian fly, but 

 appears not to be so effective in the latter respect as was 

 expected. The wheat has continued to be popular in 

 certain districts, particularly in Texas. It is one parent 

 of several good hybrid wheats. 



153. Fife wheat. A most interesting example of 

 improvements that are possible through introductions of 

 foreign varieties is found in the Fife wheat of Canada and 

 the northern states of the plains. This wheat, which has 

 become the basis of the large wheat and flour production 

 of the Northwest, originated, according to the Canadian 

 Agriculturist of 1891, in the following way: 



Mr. David Fife, of the township of Otonabee, Canada West, 

 now Ontario, procured through a friend in Glasgow, Scotland, a 

 quantity of wheat which had been obtained from a cargo direct from 

 Dantzic. As it came to hand just before spring seed time, and not 

 knowing whether it was a fall or spring variety, Mr. Fife concluded 

 to sow a part of it that spring and wait for the result. It proved to 

 be a fall wheat, as it never ripened, except three ears, which grew 

 apparently from a single grain. These were preserved, and al- 

 though sown the next year under very unfavorable circumstances, 

 being quite late and in a shady place, it proved at harvest to be 

 entirely free from rust when all the wheat in the neighborhood was 

 badly rusted. The produce of this was carefully preserved, and 

 from it sprang the variety of wheat known over Canada and the 

 Northern States by the different names of Fife, Scotch, and Glasgow. 



If the above is an accurate statement of the introduction 

 of Fife wheat, indications are rather strong that it is of 

 Russian origin, judging from the description of the grain 

 and source of the cargo, in connection with the present 

 similarity of this wheat to Russian varieties. Various 

 strains have been developed till there are now a half- 

 dozen or more so-called varieties in use. They are red, 



