20 BULLETIN 33, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



ing Indian wheat (Hard Red Calcutta) and Red Fife. One of the 

 varieties isolated from the progeny by Dr. C. E. Saunders, cerealist 

 of the Central Experimental Farm at Ottawa, Canada, was named 

 Marquis. This was first grown as a pure line in 1904. The plants are 

 slightly shorter than the Red Fife, as are also the heads (fig. 4). 

 The spikelets are more nearly square at the base and the grain is 

 shorter and plumper. Experimental trials in Canada showed it to 

 be especially well adapted to Saskatchewan, and its early ripening 

 habits gave it an immense advantage over other varieties. Milling 

 and baking tests showed that the flour was of excellent color and that 

 it had high bread-making strength. Seed of this variety has been 

 increased rapidly and distributed widely. It was first introduced into 

 the trials at Dickinson in 1912, but the crop was destroyed by hail. 

 In 1913 another lot of seed was obtained from the experimental farm 

 at Lethbridge, Alberta. It yielded about 4 bushels per acre less than 

 Red Fife. Milling and baking tests showed that it ranked first in 

 color, fourth in loaf volume, eleventh in yield of straight flour, and 

 thirteenth in percentage of crude protein in the wheat when com- 

 pared with 15 other samples of common wheats. 



THE EEARDED-FIFE GROUP. 



All of the varieties in the bearded fife group included in the 

 trials at Dickinson have been tested for only a short period. The 

 leading varieties are Bearded Fife (C. I. No. 3081), Huron (C. I. 

 Xo. 3315), and Preston (C. I. No. 3328). They are quite similar 

 in appearance, all being bearded, with dark-red kernels. The chaff 

 of Huron is light brown, while that of the others is white. They 

 are known commercially in the hard spring- wheat district as " velvet 

 chaff." This term, however, is wrongly applied, as the chaff is 

 smooth. 



Bearded Fife.— The Bearded or " Red " Fife wheat (C. I. No. 3081) 

 has yielded next to the Ghirka during the three years, 1910, 1911, and 

 1913, in which yields have been obtained. The plants are shorter 

 than the common fife wheats, as are also the heads, which have wide 

 spreading awns (fig. 4) and glumes more open at the point. The 

 Bearded Fife ripens earlier than the durum and bluestem wheats, 

 but later than the Marquis and Ghirka. The origin of this variety 

 is unknown. The stock used in the trial at Dickinson was obtained 

 from the Dakota Improved Seed Co., of Mitchell, S. Dak. Milling 

 and baking tests for a period of three years show it to possess good 

 bread-making qualities. 



Huron. — The Huron wheat (C. I. No. 3315) during a 2-year trial 

 has j'ielded better than the Bearded Fife. It is slightly taller and 

 earlier than that variety. The Huron was originated by Dr. A. P. 



