THE WHEAT CTJLTURIST. 57 



CLIMATOLOGY OF "WHEAT. 



For more than thirty years, I have taken observations 

 on this subject, with a special reference to ascertaining 

 what are the facts in the case with reference to the cli- 

 matology of the wheat plant. My purpose has been, 

 if possible, to lay down some reliable guide for be- 

 ginners who 'may exist hereafter. But I regret to say, 

 that I have been able to find nothing to corroborate the 

 popular theory in relation to selecting wheat from dif- 

 ferent latitudes, with a view to secure a variety that 

 will ripen as early as it possible for a crop of wheat to 

 mature. (I may state, in parentheses, in this place, as 

 the idea is quite irrelevant to the subject, that the ulti 

 mate object in procuring seed wheat from other climates 

 is to get a variety of grain that will ripen before the 

 wheat midge commences its ravages. Late-ripening 

 wheat is far more liable to be destroyed by the wheat 

 midge than if the grain matured ten to fourteen days 

 earlier. See this subject elucidated under its appro- 

 priate heading Selecting Early Varieties.) 



Farmers have always said that, in order to obtain a 

 variety of grain that will ripen earlier in the season, the 

 seed must be obtained in a latitude farther to the north, 

 except for wheat, which must be brought from a south- 

 ern latitude. Numerous experiments have been re- 

 corded, showing that wheat brought from a latitude 

 farther north, failed to mature as early in the season as 

 the same variety had been accustomed to ripen where the 

 seed grew ; and when the seed was brought from the 

 south, the same failure was observable. 



I have, therefore, arrived at the following deliberate, 



3* 



