THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



699 



IMPROVED WINTER EMMER. 

 Prof. B. C. Buffum, 



Worland, Wyo. 



About a dozen years ago there was introduced into 

 this country a new grain which became known as Rus- 

 sian spelt. It was a spring grain and belonged to the 

 emmers rather than to the spelts and it proved to be of 

 much value in certain sections, more especially in the 

 northern dry farming region of the central West and in 

 the irrigated parts of the mountain states. At a later date 

 .a small quantity of the Black Winter Emmer was secured 

 by the United States Department of Agriculture and sent 

 out to some of the government experiment stations. This 

 grain promised to be superior to the spring spelt because 



Improved Winter Emmer. Edge of 10-acre field, 1910. 



it would yield more per acre and there is much advantage 

 to the farmer if he can plant his grain in the fall and 

 harvest it in the early summer. But little of the seed 'was 

 obtained and as yet this grain is little known. Professor 

 Carleton, the cerealist of the department, estimated that 

 winter emmer would yield twice as large crops as are 

 secured from the so-called spring spelt. 



On the experiment station farm at Laramie, Wyo., 

 we raised seventy-two bushels per acre of the spring 

 spelt and in our feeding trials the grain proved superior 

 to corn for fattening lambs. It has given results better 

 than corn at the Dakota station when fed to cattle on 

 grass and was only a little less fattening than corn when 

 fed to cattle in connection with the native hay, or for the 

 production of baby beef. It has given results equal to 

 or better than oats with horses in practical feeding trials. 



In 1907 Professor Carleton sent me a small amount of 

 black winter emmer which I planted at Worland and ap- 

 plied breeding methods with the hope that it might be 

 improved and adapted. The first season we secured a 

 hybrid between the winter emmer and a sporting winter 

 wheat which has given rise to a most remarkable series 

 of both old and new types of grain. There is promise of 

 establishing one or more new species from these hybrids, 

 but it will take a series of years to select and test out new 

 grains of value from them. 



By throwing the winter emmer under unusual condi- 

 tions of soil and treatment its appearance, constitution 

 and habit was so disturbed that we secured several muta- 

 tions, or sports, and these have given rise to such change 

 and improvement that those acquainted with the original 

 emmer would hardly recognize the new product. It is 

 larger, darker in color, heavier in straw and head, with 

 larger stooling power and is much more hardy and pro- 

 lific under our conditions than the original type. Many 

 of the heads double the spikelets, giving the appearance 

 of a composite wheat. We have grown single heads 

 which weighed a half ounce. So prolific is the grain that, 

 in three seasons we succeeded in increasing it from the 

 first sporting plants to more than seven hundred and ten 

 bushels, threshing machine measure. This seed has all 

 been planted in order to get as much grain as possible 

 next season for distribution. 



The New Improved Winter Emmer seems to be al- 



most as hardy as winter rye and is one of our most drouth 

 and cold resistant winter grains. Having been originated 

 in the West, it is adapted to our conditions and it prom- 

 ises to be the most valuable feed grain the farmer or 

 stockman can raise, whether he grows crops by irrigation 

 or by dry farming methods. 



The first season we grew improved winter emmer at 

 Worland, the winter was very dry, there being no snow 

 or moisture until the middle of March. Last, winter was 

 the coldest and most severe ever known in this region and 

 so far as we could observe not a plant of the emmer 

 winterkilled. Our last crop gave a remarkable yield under 

 the conditions. It was grown on land which had been 

 salt sage soil and which had produced two previous crops 

 of barley and spelt, having had field peas planted with the 

 grain the second year, but the peas made no crop. The 

 emmer was seeded at the rate of thirty to thirty-four 

 pounds seed per acre to make as much increase as pos- 

 sible. A part of the field was irrigated three times and 

 a part only received two irrigations this season. The aver- 

 age yield as the grain came from the thresher was 69.1 

 bushels per acre. There were parts of the field which un- 

 doubtedly yielded twice this average. Many who visited 

 the farm while the grain was ripening pronounced it the 

 most beautiful grain field they had ever seen. 



This grain is an important addition to our western 

 farm products. Definite statements can not be made re- 

 garding its yields when planted and cared for. properly on 

 good soil, but it is safe to say that it will yield more grain 

 and more feeding value per acre than can be secured from 

 any other grain the farmer can grow. It should take the 

 place of corn for stock feeding in the western country 

 where the cool nights or the short seasons interfere with 

 obtaining large yields of corn. It produces well where 

 the summers are so hot that the weather interferes with 

 the growth of spring grains. Being both drouth resist- 

 ant and a winter grain, it will produce with a small 



Improved Winter Emmer. 'Single stools standing in field, 1910 

 Worland, Wyoming. 



amount of irrigation or rainfall. It has held its improved 

 character for three years in the Big Horn Basin, so there 

 is nothing but confidence in its success. This improved 

 emmer should revolutionize our stock feeding and our 

 sheepmen or other stockmen will not need to ship corn 

 from the middle states. 



