116 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE* 



The Kentucky white bearded, Hulchinson or Canadian flint 

 is very popular in Western New- York where it has been ra- 

 pidly disseminated since its first introduction some 12 years 

 since. It is hardy, a good yielder, with a short plump berry, 

 weighing 64 lb.?. per bushel. It requires thicker sowing 

 (about *J5 per cent, more seed) than the improved flint, as it 

 does not tiller as well, and unlike that it shells easily, wasting 

 much unless cut quite early. 



The English velvet beard or Crate wheat has a coarse straw, 

 large heads, a good berry of a reddish hue, and is well adapt- 

 ed to the rich alluvial bottom lands, where its firm straw pre- 

 vents its lodging. It is a fair yielder and tolerably hardy, but 

 its long beard is a great objection to its introduction on such 

 lands as are suited to the finer kinds. 



The Yorkshire or English flint or Soules wheat has been 

 recently introduced, and is similar in its leading features to 

 ihe old Genesee. 



The white Provence is a new and favorite variety, but its 

 slender stalk frequently subjects it to lodging. It is only suit- 

 ed to the finest calcareous wheat soils. 



The blue stem has been raised with great success in Union, 

 Penn., where it resisted smut and rust when all other kinds 

 in the vicinity were affected by it. 



The Mediterranean is a coarse wheat with a thick skin, 

 yielding a dark flour. It resists rust and the fly, is a. good 

 bearer, and may be profitably grown where other choice kinds 

 fail. 



The Egyptian, Smyrna, Reed, Many spiked, or Wild goose 

 wheat is also a hardy variety, with a thick, heavy straw which 

 prevents its lodging. 



PRODUCTION OF NEW VARIETIES or WHEAT. Besides in- 

 troducing valuable kinds from abroad and the improvement by 

 careful cultivation of such as we now have, new varieties 

 may be secured by hybridizing or crossing. This is done by 

 impregnating the female organs of the flowers on one plant, 

 by the pollen from the male organ of another. The progeny 

 sometimes materially differs from both parents, and occasion- 

 ally partakes of the leading qualities of each. Among those 

 thus produced, some may be found of peculiar excellence and 

 worthy of supplanting others whose value is declining. The 

 effect of this crossing is striking in the ear of corn, where the 

 red and white, the blue and yellow kernels are seen to blend 

 in singular confusion over the whole ear, each differing too 



