WIIKAT « I III RE. 253 



special seasons, special climatic conditions or Bpecial purposes have bo far 

 proved their worth as to be well and favourably known among wheal growers. 



Some varieties fulfil a dual purpose, and ran be cul tor hay or harvested 

 for grain. On the other hand, farmers growing wheat for the ehaff market 

 must exercise particular care in choosing special hay varieties. Further, in 

 growing for grain the difference between tin- yield- of a suitable and unsuit- 

 able variety may he as much as a third of the crop. In general, the best 

 yielders are those thai are able to make use of the full growing period in 

 their respective districts— that is, those thai can he 30wn early and mid- 

 - son. 



Several factors have to be taken into account in selecting the variety or 

 varieties that are to be sown ( ,ii a farm. They may he briefly presented 

 thus: — 



1. The climatic uml other conditions of fin district. — In a cool district the 

 varieties grown may he slow-growing or long-season ones, so that the plant 

 may have every opportunity of making the maximum growth and producing 

 I he maximum crop. 



2. Th( convenience of tin- farmer at sowing and harvesting linns. — Both 

 rations musl he distributed as much as possible in order to avoid too 



great a pressure of work at one time, and this can be effected by sowin. 

 proportion of slow-growing varieties before the main sowing season, and a 

 proportion of quick L growing ones after the main crop is in. The result of 

 such a method will also be that harvesting work will be extended ever some 

 weeks. 



•'1. Th~e aspect and other conditions of the farm. — One farmer may find 

 that a certain variety does particularly well with him, though not so well 

 generally throughout the district. 



4. The particular marTcet which the grower wishes to cater for. — The 

 variety for the early chaff market must be quite different from that intended 

 for grain even in the same district. 



5. Soil conditions. — It is becoming quite clear that certain varieties do 

 better on certain soils than others. Little information has so far been col- 

 lected on this point, but recent experiences have indicated that the soil 

 must be studied in relation to the variety. 



6. The moisture requirements of a variety. — A variety that is economical 

 of -oil moisture is valuable, especially in a dry district. In California 

 Briggs and Shantz compare! Early Bart (the principal local variety) with 

 Hard Federation, and found the latter to require far less moisture to pro- 

 duce a profitable crop than the former. In dry districts like the western 

 portion of the wheat belt this is an important consideration. 



"Early" and "Late" Wheats. 



Sow early-maturing varieties late in the season, and late-maturing varieties 

 early in the season, is a rule which usually can be followed in its entirety. . 



Heavy losses are occasioned yearly through farmers sowing their wheats at 

 the wrong time. This is due either to the fact that farmers do not know 

 which varieties are early and which are late, or,. as is more frequently the 

 case, it is due to a misapprehension of the terms " early " and " late " as 

 applied to varieties of wheat and other plants. To the vegetable-grower, as 

 well as to the stud wheat-farmer, the term " early " has always meant a 

 variety that grows quickly, and produces its crop early, and similarly the 

 term " late " has always meant a variety that matures slowly, and produces 



