AMERICAN WHEAT AND CORN. 23 



COLORADO AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, 



Fort Collins, Colo., June 17, 1884. 



MY DEAR SIR : Your letter of the llth, inclosing analyses of wheats, received. I 

 am not at all surprised at the falling off in the albuminoids and other deleterious 

 changes. I think I can give a satisfactory reason, for the deterioration. 



First. In June of last year, while these wheats were in the formation stage, we had 

 a heavy and destructive hail-storm, which almost entirely destroyed my whole crop. 

 So badly was it beaten down that it was a month before the crop was where it was 

 before, and not half of it then was making anything like good grain. I find when 

 the wheat plant is in any way injured the grain especially suffers most. The foliage, 

 if anything, rather flourishes, or, in other words, grows more vigorously and rank. 

 The sap is more abundant, and the grain producing elements much less. 



Second. Last year up to August we had much more rain than ever before. Fre- 

 quent showers, followed by hot suns and damp, sultry air, made many of my wheats 

 rust. Those injure;! and put back by hail suffered most from rust. 



I am satisfied these are the causes of deterioration noticed in the analyses. The 

 difference in the two seasons was as great as that between ours generally and that of 

 Iowa. I think this year will bring out my hybrids with a better showing. 

 Very truly, yours, 



A. E. BLOUNT. 

 CLIFFORD RICHARDSON, Esq., 



Assistant Chemist. 



Professor Blount's conclusions are interesting and undoubtedly cor- 

 rect, and show how sensitive wheat is to causes affecting its develop- 

 ment. 



Arrested development may apparently produce two l results, according 

 to the period in the growth of the plant at which it occurs. In the 

 Colorado specimens, as Professor Blount remarks, the supply of nitro- 

 gen was probably cut off by the injury done by storms. In the cases 

 of the Ohio wheats, which owed their small size and shriveled ap- 

 pearance to wet weather just before harvesting, the check to develop- 

 ment came after the nitrogenous portion of the seed had been stored up 

 and prevented the accumulation of the starch which was necessary to 

 make a plump grain. 



Professor Blount proposes to continue his experiments, and it will be 

 very interesting to observe the quality and composition of succeeding 

 crops. 



In 1882 the product of several seed wheats sent to Colorado in 1881 

 was found to be much richer in albuminoids than the original seed and 

 in our previous bulletin attention was called to this fact. Of the last 

 year's crop eight varieties were from seed sent to Professor Blount from 

 Washington. 



A comparison of the analyses will show the changes during the past 

 unfavorable season. 



