58 BULLETIN 1074, U. s. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



DESCRIPTIONS, HISTORY, DISTRIBUTION, AND SYNONYMY OF COMMON WHEAT 



VARIETIES. 



WINTEE BLUESTEM. 



Description. — Plant winter habit, midseason, midtall ; stem glaucous, white, 

 strong ; spike awnless, fusiform, middense, erect to inclined ; glumes glabrous, 

 yellowish white, midlong, wide ; shoulders midwide, square to elevated ; beaks 

 midwide, obtuse, 0.5 to 1.5 mm. long, slightly incurved ; apical awns few, 5 to 40 

 mm. long ; kernels white, midlong to long, soft to semihard, elliptical to ovate ; 

 germ small ; crease midwide, middeep ; cheeks rounded ; brush small to midsized, 

 midlong. 



Winter Bluestem has the hardy winter characteristics of Turkey, but lacks 

 vigor and is usually a comparatively low yielder. 



History. — This variety originated at the Washington Agricultural Experiment 

 Station, Pullman, Wash., as the result of a cross between Turkey and Pacific 

 Bluestem (170, p. 6). It was distributed for commercial growing by the Wash- 

 ington Agricultural Experiment Station from 1912 to 1914. 



Distribution. — Grown in the State of Washington to a very limited extent. 



MAKTIN (MARTIN AMBEE). 



Description. — Plant winter habit, midseason, tall ; stem white, strong ; spike 

 awnless, linear-fusiform, lax, nodding; glumes glabrous, white, long, midwide; 

 shoulders midwide, oblique to square; beaks wide, acute, triangular, 1.0 mm. 

 long; apical awns few, 5 to 15 mm. long; kernels white, midlong, soft, ovate; 

 germ small ; crease midwide, middeep ; cheeks rounded ; brush midsized, midlong. 



This variety is distinguished from other winter varieties of the group by its 

 long, lax, tapering spike. A pure line (C. I. No. 4463) has been isolated which is 

 resistant to bunt. A spike of Martin wheat is shown in Plate VI, Figure 2. 



History. — Martin (Martin Amber) originated from a single plant found as 

 a mixture in a field of Clawson by Henry S. Bunnell, of Junius, Seneca County, 

 N. Y., about 1875 {152). Several names were early applied to it. It was called 

 Armstrong by R. T. Halloway, of Penn Yan, Yates County, N. Y., who first dis- 

 tributed it in 1880 (16, p. 666). The variety, however, never became* widely 

 grown under that name. In 1882, J. A. Everitt, seedsman, of Watertown, Pa., 

 named it Martin Amber and distributed it widely (16, p. 666). The variety 

 became commercially established under that name. It was also distributed in 

 1882 as Landreth, by David Landreth & Son, seedsmen, of Philadelphia, Pa. 

 (152). 



Distribution. — Grown to a limited extent as Martin Amber in Arizona, Idaho, 

 Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Washington, and 

 under the names of synonyms in Kentucky, Missouri, New York, North Caro- 

 lina and Tennessee. The distribution of Martin wheat is shown in Figure 19. 



Synonyms. — Amber, Armstrong, Landreth, Satisfaction, Silver Chaff, and 

 White Amber. Amber and White Amber are local names used for the variety 

 on farms in Idaho and Washington. The name White Amber is also used 

 in Marion County, Ky. Armstrong and Landreth, as indicated above, are 

 names given it by seedsmen many years ago, but are not now in use. Satis- 

 faction is the name under which a similar wheat was obtained by the United 

 States Department of Agriculture, but this was evidently wrongly labeled 

 and the name should not be used for this variety. Silver Chaff is an old 

 name for the variety (15) and was early recognized by the Ohio Agricultural 

 Experiment Station as a synonym for Martin (Amber) (116). The variety 

 is still grown under this name in Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, New York, 

 North Carolina, Ohio, and Tennessee, 



