16 BULLETIN" 1074, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



contained valuable information on the origin of domestic varieties. 

 Agricultural papers have been reviewed, and much information as to 

 the origin of varieties has been obtained from that source. There is 

 still much to learn concerning the origin of our cultivated varieties. 

 The origin of many probably has never been recorded, but of some 

 for which the origin has not been determined there probably is a 

 recorded history somewhere. Eeference is always given to the pub- 

 lished sources of the histories that have been obtained. 



DETERMINATION OF DISTRIBUTION OF VARIETIES. 



The commercial distribution and production of different varieties 

 are the greatest economic factors with which this classification is con- 

 cerned. Those varieties which are most widely grown usually are the 

 most valuable. Varieties that are more productive may be in exist- 

 ence, but until they become known and widely grown they are of little 

 value. New varieties are being continually produced. Some are of 

 little or no value. Others are an improvement over the older stand- 

 ard varieties, as their use extends the area of wheat culture, increases 

 the yield per acre, or improves the quality. This adds to production 

 and increases the income of the producer. 



The commercial success of varieties is largely dependent upon their 

 adaptation to the conditions in which they are grown. A variety 

 that produces well in a locality soon becomes well known and its 

 acreage increases until it comes into competition with other varieties 

 which are more productive. The production of old, well- adapted 

 varieties is rather extensive and stable. Their distribution has be- 

 come fixed within certain general sections. New varieties are still 

 competing for supremacy and therefore are more locally and spar- 

 ingly grown. Poorly adapted varieties sometimes have continued in 

 cultivation for more than a century in isolated and unimportant 

 wheat- producing localities. The distribution of these, therefore, is 

 often widely scattered. 



THE VARIETAL SURVEY. 



To determine the commercially cultivated varieties of wheat in 

 the United States and the extent of their distribution, a wheat 

 varietal survey was made in cooperation with the Bureau of Crop 

 Estimates. The first survey was made in 1917, when questionnaires 

 were sent to one or two correspondents in each of the wheat-produc- 

 ing counties of the various States. The incomplete returns from 

 this survey were very interesting and contained so much valuable 

 information from the counties reporting that it was decided in 1918 

 to send questionnaires to several correspondents in all counties not 

 previously reporting, in order to have a more complete record. 

 The replies were received and tabulated. They showed the varieties 



