12 CULTURE OF FARM CROPS. 



is ' Trump, or Trumpeter's wheat.' Under the name ot 

 ' Hardcastle,' a stiff-strawed variety, it is grown extensively, 

 and considered the ' best and most fruitful of the whites.' 

 The grain is thin-skinned, and averages from 63 to 66 Ibs. 

 per bushel. ' Uxbridge ' yields wheat the great favourite 

 of the London millers; 'it is everywhere prolific, and its 

 grain, though somewhat small and short, is plump and 

 white, forming an elegant sample. Uxbridge is well 

 worthy the attention of the cultivators of fine wheat.' 

 ' Whittington,' Wellington, or Eleys wheat was introduced 

 from Switzerland by Mr. Whittington of Eipley, who re-- 

 commended it for ' thin and inferior soils ; ' it is not 

 adapted for rich and heavy soils, the straw being in the; e 

 apt to lodge on it ; is long and soft. It is in some dis- 

 tricts considered valuable for spring sowing, as it ripens 

 early. 



6. Of the red ivheats, Mr. Fyfe names twenty varieties : 

 ' blood red ' is the variety commonly cultivated in the 

 west of England, although ' it is by no means a model pro- 

 duct of the red-wheat.' ' Erowicks ' has the reputation 

 of being the best ; it is highly thought of by millers, who 

 habitually use it for mixing with white wheat flour. The 

 ' bearded or April red,' see fig. 3, enjoys a good reputation 

 as a profitable crop ; indeed, bearded wheats are gradually 

 rising in estimation, and they seem especially adapted to 

 fickle and stormy climates. The ' beard ' has many use- 

 ful qualities ; it prevents the grain from being knocked up 

 in windy weather, acting like a spring or a ' buffer ' when 

 the ears are forcibly driven in contact by the wind ; the 

 elasticity of the beard is also useful in preventing the ears 

 lying too closely together when in the sheaf, so that a free 

 circulation of the air between them is maintained. Of the 

 red wheats, ' nursery ' is held in high estimation by mill- 

 ers, ' who value this wheat alone equally with our best 

 white, since its seeds, which are small, long, and slender, 

 with a bright shining skin, yield flour of the best quality. 

 It is distinguished by having an ear with white chaff and 

 straw of the medium length, and its popularity is no mar- 



