296 THE WHEAT PLANT 



1 6. Squarehead. A late, very prolific English wheat very widely grown 

 throughout Western Europe since 1870 on account of its stiff straw and high 

 yield. It comes into ear at Reading about June 20. Breymann (Landw. Jahrb. 

 786, 1878) was informed by Samuel D. Shirreff that it was discovered by a Mr. 

 Taylor in a field of Victoria wheat in Yorkshire about 1868. From 1870 it 

 was very extensively grown and sold by C. Scholey, Eastoft Grange, Goole, 

 Yorkshire, who is sometimes credited with its discovery. It was introduced 

 into Denmark by a pupil of S. D. Shirreff in 1874, and from thence into 

 Germany. Later it spread to Holland, Belgium, and France. 



Previous to 1870, typical Squarehead wheats were grown as early as 1839 

 under the names Suffolk Thickset and New Eed Norfolk or Hickling's 

 Prolific, and specimens of these collected in 1839 and 1841 are in the Collection 

 of the Royal Agricultural Society of England (Nos. 136 and 245). Hickling's 

 Prolific was discovered in 1830 by Samuel Hickling of Cawston, Aylsham, 

 Norfolk, and continued to be grown for some considerable time. Whether the 

 more modern Squarehead of Taylor, Scholey, and Shirreff was a derivative of 

 Hickling's wheat, or a new and independent mutation or product of hybridisa- 

 tion cannot be determined. 



Forms resembling Squarehead appear in the F 2 and subsequent generations 

 of hybrids of lax-eared vulgar e wheats with T. compactum. 



Squarehead. 



Young shoots, prostrate. 



Straw, of medium height, 105 cm. (about 41 inches) high. 



Ear, dense, square, 8-5 cm. long ; upper spikelets with awns 1-1-5 cm - l n g ! 

 spikelets 24 ; D = 32 (Ear type 2, Fig. 189). 



Empty glume, 9 mm. long (6, 9, Fig. 166). 



Grain, semi-flinty, 6-5 mm. long, 3-6 mm. broad, 3-25 mm. thick. 



Numerous selections have been made of Squarehead wheat in all the countries 

 previously named. These differ slightly in morphological characters, such as 

 form of empty glume, the length of the awn on the flowering glumes near the 

 apex of the ear, and in ear density. 



Nearest the original form are Browick Greychaff, Leutewitz, and Beseler's 

 Squareheads from Germany. Criewener Squarehead from Germany and 

 Austria and Essex Squarehead have shorter awns (-5 cm. long). Several of the 

 Swedish Svalof Squareheads, Strube's Squarehead, and English Kent Payer, 

 which closely resemble each other, have denser ears (D = 36-37). 



Ear beardless ; glumes white, pubescent ; grain white. 



T. vulgare, var. leucospermum, Korn. Syst. Uebers. 10 (1873). 

 A widely distributed variety. 



i. An early form received from the Punjab, the United Provinces, and other 

 parts of India. It comes into ear at Reading at the end of May. 



Young shoots, erect. 



Straw, slender, short to medium height, 88-102 cm. (35-40 inches) ; leaves 

 blue-green. 



