268 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LII. No. 1342 



will also be giyen dealing respectively with air- 

 ships and with navigation, while arrangements 

 are in hand for special instruction in air- 

 cooled engines, high-compression engines, 

 dopes, instruments, wireless telegraphy, and 

 similar subjects. It has also been arranged 

 that students will carry out part of their prac- 

 tical training in one or other of the govern- 

 ment establishments concerned with aero- 

 nautics. 



VARIETIES OF WHEAT 



The Department of Agriculture reports 

 that the introduction of hard winter wheat 

 from Russia into Kansas and other states of 

 the central Great Plains area in the early 

 seventies was an epoch-making event. The 

 growing of these Crimean wheats, especially 

 the Turkey and Kharkov varieties, has been 

 the principal cause of the prosperous develop- 

 ment of much of that section. The develop- 

 ment and distribution of Kanred, an im- 

 proved strain of hard red winter wheat, may 

 prove equally epoch-making in the history of 

 Kansas. Kanred is one of the most impor- 

 tant examples of the improvement of wheat 

 by the method of pure line selection. It is 

 the product of a single head, selected in 1906 

 at the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Sta- 

 tion. Its true value was determined only 

 after many years of careful experiments, but 

 as a reward not fewer than 500,000 acres were 

 sown in the State of Kansas alone in the 

 fall of 1919. Since 1917, Kanred has been 

 under experiment in many states other than 

 Kansas. Last fall many thousands of bushels 

 were introduced into other states for com- 

 mercial growing. Kanred is unusually well 

 adapted to many of the varying conditions in 

 the state of Kansas. Its principal advantage 

 over Turkey and Kharkov is its resistance to 

 some forms of both stem rust and leaf rust. 

 It has other advantages, however, such as 

 slightly greater winter hardiness, earlier ma- 

 turity, and makes better pasture. Those fac- 

 tors have caused it to outyield the Turkey 

 and Kharkov wheats in most sections of 

 Kansas by 3 to 5 bushels per acre. The same 

 factors may or may not be as important in 

 other states. 



To determine the varieties of Australian 

 wheat best adapted to conditions on the 

 Pacific coast, the United States Department 

 of Agriculture has conducted a series of ex- 

 periments which accurately ascertained the 

 yield and quality of those varieties already 

 of commercial importance in that region, as 

 well as other varieties, samples of which were 

 brought direct from Australia. In connection 

 with the latter phase of the investigation 

 more than 130 samples of wheat were ob- 

 tained, representing 92 distinct varieties. 

 Results from the early experiments with these 

 wheats show that the " Federation group," 

 consisting of three varieties. Federation, Hard 

 Federation, and White Federation, is prob- 

 ably the best suited to this western region. 

 These three varieties were compared in 

 yield with the leading commercial wheats, in- 

 cluding the Bluestem, Australian varieties. 

 Pacific, White Australian, and Early Baart, 

 and produced higher yields, according to the 

 department's cereal specialists. Hard Feder- 

 ation produced the larger yields in Oregon, 

 while White Federation did better in Cali- 

 fornia. Milling experiments indicate that 

 Hard Federation is equal or superior for mill- 

 ing and bread-making purposes to the leading 

 commercial varieties now grown on the Pacific 

 coast and also superior in this regard to Fed- 

 eration and White Federation. 



LECTURES AT THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL 

 GARDEN 



Free public lectures are being delivered in 

 the lecture hall of the museum building, Sat- 

 urday afternoons, at four o'clock, as follows: 



Sept. 4. "How to can fruits and vegetables," 



Professor H. D. Hemenway. 

 Sept. 11. "What Columbus saw in the new 



world, ' ' Dr. W. A. Murrill. 

 Sept. 18. ' ' National losses due to plant diseases, ' ' 



Dr. M. T. Cook. 

 Sept. 25. "Dahlias and their culture," Dr. M. A. 



Howe. 



(Exhibition of Dahlias, Sept. 25 and 26) 

 Oct. 2 "Nuts and other food crops from trees," 



Dr. W. C. Deming. 

 Get. 9. "Evergreens," Mr. G. V. Nash. 

 Oct. 16. "Autumn colors," Dr. A. B. Stout. 



