The Conquest of the Desert 



excellent yields and showed remarkable rust- 

 resistant and drought-enduring qualities. But 

 the macaroni factories of America were then 

 using the ordinary bread wheats, and neither 

 the mills nor the elevators would accept the 

 durum varieties. Happily, this prejudice has 

 died down, and special mills are now being 

 erected with the requisite machinery for grind- 

 ing this type of wheat. 



In blending with the softer varieties, and as a 

 source of semolina, or " macaroni flour," durum 

 wheats are now acknowledged to be unrivalled. 

 But for the dry farmer the drought-resisting 

 quality of the durum wheat is the most im- 

 portant point ; and on the arid prairies of 

 Western America they have surpassed all the 

 best-known spring varieties, and are easily pre- 

 eminent in this respect. Their rust-resistance 

 is also noteworthy. This was first shown in a 

 striking manner in America during the season 

 of 1909, when the ravages of rust did so much 

 damage to the common varieties. 



The durum wheats are the best wheats to be 

 grown where the summers are hot and dry ; 

 but they do not give satisfactory yields in 

 humid regions. They first became prominent 

 in the commercial world of the United States 



106 



