WHEAT. 119 



Another reason which makes the comparative merits 

 of varieties so confusing is that many names are given 

 to the same variety. It is not unusual for old and 

 well-known varieties to be put on the market with 

 high-sounding nam«s and extravagant praises. Proba- 

 bly the re-naming of old varieties is to some extent 

 intentional deception, but doubtless much of it is 

 through ignorance. A wheat raiser procures fresh 

 seed from some source without knowing the name of 

 it, and finds after growing it a year or two that it is 

 better than that grown by his immediate neighbors. 

 This leads to a local name, given either by the grower 

 or the buyers. The better the variety and the more 

 extensively it is grown, the larger the number of 

 names it is likely to receive. Different varieties, also, 

 although less frequently, sometimes have the same 

 name. 



There are varieties which for a given locality will 

 do better during a series of years than will others. It 

 is of great importance for wheat growers to discrimi- 

 nate between the good and the poor. It is not within 

 the scope of this book to name even the varieties which 

 are raised in this country, and it would be impossible 

 to make out lists of desirable varieties for so large 

 a country with any substantial accuracy. 



What is a variety ? The following are some of the 

 characteristics which may be taken to constitute vari- 

 ety differences: color of berry, color of glumes, 

 glumes bearded or smooth, growth of the straw, and 

 time of ripening. If grown under like conditions 

 probably the size of the berry when the differences are 

 marked should be considered. With winter wheat the 

 time of ripening is not a very important characteristic. 



