32 BULLETIN 39, TJ. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



wheat. As uniform germination is essential for brewing and as 

 varieties differ in the length of time required for germination, the best 

 results are obtained from pedigreed selections. The danger of mix- 

 ing in thrashing and other operations is great where varieties of dif 

 ferent groups are grown in the same locality ; hence, it is desirable to 

 confine the production of barley in a community to a single group or. 

 better still, to a single variety. As the varieties of the different 

 groups of barley do not succeed equally well in the different parts of 

 South Dakota it is suggested that the State, so far as the production 

 of barley is concerned, be divided into eastern, central, and western 

 districts as follows: 



(1) Eastern district: That part of the State east of the James 

 River. In this district 6-rowed varieties, such as Manchuria and 

 Odessa, should be grown. 



(2) Central district: That part of the State between the James 

 and Missouri Rivers. The 2-rowed varieties, Hannchen, Bohemian, 

 and Kitzing, should be grown here. 



(3) Western district: That part of the State west of the Missouri 

 River. As the crop can be fed to stock in this district to better ad- 

 vantage than it can be marketed, little attention need be given to 

 market requirements, but only the most drought-resistant varieties 

 should be grown. These may be either 2-rowed or 6-rowed. 



The policy of developing separate producing areas has been ad- 

 hered to during 1912 by the South Dakota station and the United 

 States Department of Agriculture in the distribution of seed, and if 

 the growers will realize the importance of this movement much good 

 will be accomplished. By this means South Dakota barleys will be 

 made pure and uniform in each district. The barley market will 

 doubtless respond to this improvement and the South Dakota grower 

 will reap the reward. 



So much work is in progress in various parts of the world in the 

 breeding and improvement of barley that it is difficult to keep pace 

 with the output of new varieties. For example, the Wisconsin Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station has recently distributed pedigreed 

 strains of Manchuria barley. Without a test extending through sev- 

 eral years it is impossible to say whether or not these Wisconsin 

 selections are as well adapted to conditions in South Dakota as the 

 varieties already tested. As soon as new varieties are obtained from 

 the breeders they are placed in the tests at the station, and if any 

 are found to be superior to the ones now recommended the informa- 

 tion is readily available. It is not at all certain that a variety which 

 has done well in Canada or Wisconsin will succeed in South Dakota. 

 Experimenting on a large scale is expensive and hazardous, and such 

 tests are best conducted by the State experiment station at public ex- 

 pense. It is a safe policy for the South Dakota farmer to depend on 



