174 



Varieiiefs, Properties, and Classification of Wheat. Vol. III. 



snb-varietips himself, out of three htinflred 

 and fitly ears, tlie produce of forty-six grains, 

 there vv>>re two hundred of the origin;ii sort, 

 which were a rod compact hoary or velvetry 

 kind, twenty-one cars of a smooth red, eiphty- 

 six of a whitish downy appearance, and forty- 

 three smooth chaffed white ears, [t mi^rlit 

 be conjectured that the original or parent ear, 

 having- been discovered in a field of mixed 

 white, had been impregnated by the pollen of 

 four different sorts of wheat, which the pe- 

 culiar conformation of an ear of wheat might 

 admit. Professor La Gasca classed the orig- 

 inal sort as a seedling. 



Another instance of this propensity to sport, 

 I found in a Kentish downy seedling of an 

 unusually square compact form, bearinu' a fine 

 white plump round grain. I was anxious to 

 propagate this, as it appeared so close and com- 

 pact in its form, that the wind was not likely 

 to have much power on it ; it was accordingly 

 sown in 1S33, but I had the mortification to 

 find, tliat it produced a great number of smooth 

 ears ; though there was little difference in the 

 appearance of the grain ; I therefore set that 

 produce aside and tried to raise it from a sin- 

 gle ear again in 1834, but from 72 grains, 

 whereof 13 died — eight ears were of a smooth 

 port, so that I considered it incorrigible, and 

 have withdrawn it as a sub-variety, constantly 

 liable to change. 



The Talavera, flowering much earlier than 

 any other, is sure to continue pure, unle.ss stray 

 grains happen to be accidentally mixed with it. 

 No. 1, which I call Jersey Dantzic, flowers 

 ten days later, and is very little disposed to 

 change; I suspect, the taller wheats are not 

 liable to be impregnated by the shorter sorts, 

 but the contrary to be the case. It is of con- 

 sequence therefore to endeavor to keep all 

 those varieties, which are found to answer the 

 purpose required, as far apart from each other 

 as possible. 



One sort that I grew close to some others, 

 in the course of experiments, so far from hav- 

 ing any affinity for them, actually exhibited 

 a sort of dislike or shrinking, from some of 

 its neighbors ; it occurred in a very rare sort, 

 of spring wheat, bearing white grains (most 

 spring wheats bearing liver colored dark 

 grains) this absolutely took a curve, even con- 

 trary to the prevailing winds, from a winter 

 wheat planted fourteen inches to its lefl, and 

 bent towards some rows of spring wheat which 

 were on its right, tliis last, another variety, 

 showing no predilection or dislike towards 

 either of its neighbors. Hence I am led to 

 imagine, that from some unknown delicacy of 

 habit, it loathed as it were the neighborhood 

 of the winter wheat, and leaned towards its 

 summer neighbor. This was the more re- 

 markable as the periods of flowering of the 

 Bumnier and winter wheats were not the same. 



I therefore conclude, spring wheal may be 

 sown with ferftcl safclij by the side of v:in- 

 ter wheat, withovt any fear of intermixture. 



I hold it to be of paramount importance, to 

 ascertain, and keep a note of the period of 

 flowering of each variety to be cultivated, on 

 extensive fiirms, which will tend more to the 

 keeping up a pure sort tlian any other method, 

 care being taken also to cause the barn to be 

 weil swept, as each sort is finally disposed of. 



It may be of no small importance to be 

 able to sow spring and winter wheats at the 

 same time, for it must be clearly understood 

 that many spring wheats will stand the winter, 

 as well as winter wheats, and as they would 

 then invariably flower at differcni; periods, it 

 would be a certain mode of ensuring pure 

 crops; besides attaining another essential ob- 

 ject, that of having flour of a moist nature, 

 from the spring wheat, to mix with the dryer 

 flour of the winter variety. 



ON THE EARLY IlAniTS OF SOME VARIETIES. 



It has long been the practice with intelli- 

 gent farmers, to procure seed wheats from 

 warmer climates, especially those in the 

 north, to whom it is important to obtain seed 

 that may ripen a fortnight earlier than that 

 of home growth. 



The chances are, that such wheat having 

 the best and warmest weather to ripen in, will 

 have attained its full state of maturity, hence 

 not only be the most productive in farina, but 

 also the fittest for seed. 



I have had occasion, this season, to satisfy 

 myself by observation of the excellence of 

 such practice — through the kindness of the 

 late Secretary to the Devon and Cornwall 

 Horticultural Society, Mr. Hamilton, I was 

 enabled to sow seven grains of the Victoria 

 wheat grown on Dartmoor Jieath — they were 

 very poor and lean; however five of them grew, 

 throve and ripened among my select varietie.-^. 

 They were sown on the 10th of November, 

 in order to compare the produce and volume 

 of their grain, with some of the same sort, 

 which were to be sown on tlie29lh of March 

 following — they rose on the seventeenth day, 

 were in ear on the first of June, were in 

 flower on the tenth, and were ripe on the 23d 

 of July. 



Those sown on the 29th of March were on 

 a light .soil in a warm exposition, they came 

 into ear on the 19tb of Jiuih, flowered on 

 the first of July and ripened on the 20th 

 of August. Tiie first of these two exper- 

 iments establishes tiiat it is a hardy vari- 

 riety, as it stood the winter perfectly ; the ear 

 and grain is also liner and plumper than that 

 sown in the spring. The term " Tremois" 

 wheat, however, d(,)es not apply to tiiose cli- 

 mates wiiich are not sufficiently warm to fiirce 

 the growth so as to ripen it in ninety days; 



