SPECIAL FARM TOPICS 241 



starch. The quantity and quality of the gluten make them exceed- 

 ingly valuable for making macaroni. They are extremely resistant 

 to drought and resist the attacks of leaf rust and smuts to an un- 

 usual degree. On the other hand, they will not withstand hard 

 winters, and are usually grown as spring wheats. This fact should 

 not be a strong objection to them, however, for they will behave 

 very differently from the ordinary spring wheats grown in Kansas 

 and Nebraska. South of the thirty-fifth parallel they may be sown 

 in late autumn. 



Since the Department of Agriculture undertook the work the 

 production of macaroni wheat in the Northwest has increased with 

 astonishing rapidity. The estimated crop of the two Dakotas alone 

 during the season of 1903 is 10,500,000 bushels. Perhaps no other 

 new crop has been so warmly welcomed by farmers in the regions 

 suitable to its growth. The reason for this is found in the splendid 

 adaptability of these new wheats to the climatic and soil conditions 

 of the Great Plains region. Macaroni wheat thrives in abundant 

 sunshine, does not require a large amount of moisture, resists vigor- 

 ously the attacks of the smuts and rusts, and is a strong grower, 

 yielding largely (from 25 to 100 per cent) in excess of the ordinary 

 bread wheats, which often produce indifferent crops in the semi- 

 arid regions of the Northwest. 



The several varieties of macaroni wheat, while differing widely 

 in their chemical and milling properties, nevertheless possess many 

 traits in common. They have strong straws, which prevent lodging; 

 also heavy and somewhat persistent chaff, furnished with long 

 beards, which protect the kernels from the fierce heat of the sun and 

 prevent shattering a grave objection to our common blue-stems. 



Methods of Cultivation. The cultivation of these new wheat re- 

 quires little variation from the methods employed in growing or- 

 dinary spring bread wheats. The same soils answer admirably; 

 sowings are made at the same time in the spring, and the prepara- 

 tion of the soil is the same. It is probable that some varieties can 

 be converted into winter wheats farther south. Owing to the large 

 kernels of the macaroni wheats, and to the fact that they do not 

 stool so freely, 5 pecks per acre are sown on good rich soil, while a 

 poorer soil requires at least 6 pecks. Before harvesting, the grain 

 is allowed to ripen fully, and if it can be thrashed without suffering 

 from rains the qualtiy of the grain is much improved. It is better, 

 therefore, to thrash directly from the shock, when possible. When 

 the wheat is first stacked, before thrashing, it should be allowed to 

 go through the usual sweating process and become thoroughly dry, 

 otherwise it will offer some difficulty in thrashing. In any event, 

 the thrasher must have a full set of concave teeth, and the seives 

 must be so arranged that broken heads and white caps are faithfully 

 returned to the cylinder for a second beating; otherwise much grain 

 will be lost in the straw. 



Classes of Macaroni Wheat. It has been found convenient 

 while investigating the different varieties of macaroni wheat to 

 divide them into three classes: First, the Northern or Russian va- 



