2 BULLETIN 1074, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The identification of varieties requires some knowledge of the 

 appearance of plant and kernel and is assisted by information regard- 

 ing its history or distribution. Wheat varieties are most generally 

 designated by names, which are established through publication and 

 usage. The association of a name with a recognized type of wheat 

 enables identification. Confusion in names is frequent, especially in 

 America, where the number of actual varieties is very large. This 

 confusion occurs in two principal ways: (1) The same name is ap- 

 plied to very different varieties in different parts of the country, and 

 (2) the same variety is grown under several different names in dif- 

 ferent parts of the country or even in the same part. Identification 

 is difficult in cases of similar or closely related varieties and is con- 

 fused by the multiplicity of names. 



There is need, therefore, for a practical and usable system of classi- 

 fication which will standardize the varietal nomenclature and enable 

 growers to identify varieties with which they are concerned. The 

 purpose of this bulletin is to provide such a classification of the 

 wheat varieties that are grown commercially in the United States 

 or may be grown soon. The classification has been made by using 

 only such characters as can be distinguished by the naked eye, no 

 instrument other than a measuring rule having been used in the 

 investigations. The names of varieties have been standardized in 

 accordance with a code of nomenclature prepared by Ball and 

 Clark (4$) 1 and adopted with slight changes by the American Society 

 of Agronomy. 



This bulletin is written in response to a demand for varietal infor- 

 mation from farmers, agronomists, plant breeders, and members of 

 the grain trade. It should form the basis for future work in wheat 

 improvement, save the time and expense of breeding for combina- 

 tions of characters which are already in existence, prevent much 

 duplication of work in conducting varietal experiments, and aid in 

 preventing the fraudulent or unknown exploitation of old varieties 

 of wheat under new names. Its greatest value, however, should be 

 in providing a compendium of the wheats of North America for 

 all workers in the wheat industry, especially those who have only a 

 limited or local knowledge of the varieties which are grown. 



PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS. 



Most of the systematic study of wheat varieties has been done by 

 foreign investigators. Comparatively little work of this nature has 

 heretofore been done in America. 



1 The numbers (italic) in parentheses refer to "Literature cited," at the end of this 

 bulletin. 



