32 BULLETIN 30, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



weighed 30 pounds per bushel. The ratio by weight of grain to straw 

 was 1 to 0.83. 



In the fall of 1911 the substation obtained several pounds of Buf- 

 f urn's Improved Black Winter emmer. Two adjacent half-acre plats 

 were used to compare this strain with the ordinary strain of emmer, 

 one plat of each being sown. Both plats received identical treat- 

 ment before and after they were seeded. They were seeded on Octo- 

 ber 26 at the rate of 6 pecks per acre, using the "oats" side of the 

 drill. It was noticed at the time of seeding that the kernel of Buf- 

 fum's Improved was much softer than that of the ordinary strain. 

 This may have been due to the fact that the Improved was produced 

 on irrigated land. The glumes of the Improved were rather brown 

 instead of black, as were those of the ordinary strain. 



The winter survival was practically the same. The slight differ- 

 ence in number of plants per acre favored the ordinal strain. No 

 difference was observed in the general appearance of the plats or in 

 the color, vigor, or manner of growth of the plants. Both plats were 

 in full head on July 5, and they were ripe on August 9 at an average 

 height of 31 inches. 



The ordinary strain, growing on the plat nearest the fence, was 

 damaged to some extent by rabbits and ground squirrels. This fact 

 may account for the slight difference in yield which favored the Im- 

 proved. 



The yield per acre of Buffum's Improved was 25.2 bushels; that of 

 the ordinary strain was 22.1 bushels, a difference of 3.1 bushels per 

 acre. As the latter strain had a slightly higher winter survival, it 

 can be assumed that the damage done this plat by the rabbits and 

 squirrels was responsible, in part at least, for the difference in yield. 



It has been stated by Prof. Buffum 1 that the progenitors of the 

 Improved Black Winter emmer were plants of "a different type, with 

 large, coarse -growing straw and very large, composite heads which 

 were different in appearance and of darker color than the ordinary 

 ones." It was stated further in the same letter that since 1908 "it 

 has come true to type," at Worland, Wyo. It is of particular interest 

 to note that at Nephi not one composite head could be found among 

 the plants which covered a total area of six-tenths of an acre. A few 

 heads were light brown in color, but otherwise there was no percep- 

 tible difference between the Improved and the ordinary strains. 



NURSERY EXPERIMENTS. 



The nursery experiments at Nephi during 1908 to 1912, inclusive, 

 afforded an opportunity for studying cereal varieties on a more 

 intensive scale than was given by the plat experiments. Each test 

 in the nursery was confined to short rows. The rows varied from 



1 Carleton, M. A. Winter emmer. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Farmers' Bulletin 466, 1912. 



