ALASKA AND STONER, OR MIRACLE, WHEATS. 5 



THE NEW SPECIES OF WHEAT. 



Baltimore, October 3, I84O. 

 To the Editor of the American Farmer. 



Sir : I think it proper to take the earliest occasion to notice the new species 

 of wheat, a drawing of which has just been publislied in the American Farmer 

 and copied into the American and Patriot, accompanied by a letter from Mr. 

 Read. I do this for the double purpose of saving money and trouble to all 

 concerned. This new species of wheat is, without doubt, the Egyptian wheat 

 Triticum compositum, for a drawing and description of which, see Loudon's 

 Encyclopedia of Plants. The engraving in Loudon and that in the Farmer 

 present the same characters precisely. Besides, I have often seen the Egyptian 

 wheat, and the head of the new species which has been exhibited to me is 

 identical with the Egyptian. This kind of wheat was introduced into Eng- 

 land in 1799, and from that time to the present has made frequent appearances 

 in the United States. It has been called successively the Egyptian, Syrian, 

 Many-spiked, Seven-headed, Reed, Wild Goose wheat, etc. The name Wild 

 Goose was given to it from the fact that a few grains of it were found some 

 years ago in the crop of a wild goose that was killed on the shores of Lake 

 Champlain. The name Reed wheat was given to it because of its stout stem 

 resembling a small reed or cane. It was received by tlie Philadelphia Society 

 for Promoting Agriculture, in 1807, from Gen. Armstrong, then our minister 

 at Paris. Judge Peters took charge of a part of it, and grew it five or six 

 years. It was at first very productive under his cultivation, a pint of seed 

 sown in drills and hoed producing one bushel and a peck of grain. But after 

 the first three or four j'ears, the Judge says it did not thrive sufficient to 

 authorize extensive cultivation. At that time it was extensively distributed 

 by the above-named society. Judge Buel says he had seen extensive fields 

 of it. 



In the Domestic Encyclopedia, published in 1821, it is stated that the 

 Egyptian wheat does not yield as much flour as any of the other kinds, and 

 that the flour is scarcely superior to that obtained from the finest barley. In 

 March, 1838, it was selling in Albany, N. Y., at $5 per bushel. It has several 

 times been brought from Santa Fe by travelers and traders. It appears to 

 be cultivated in that country, probably owing to its better adaptation to the 

 climate than other kinds. That the Osage Indians might have obtained it from 

 Santa Fe is no way improbable. How it found its way from Egypt to Santa 

 Fe I cannot pretend to guess, unless a wild goose also carried it from the 

 former to the latter country, which, on reflection, is scarcely more improbable 

 than the fact stated above, that one of these birds carried it to the shores of 

 Lake Champlain. 



From all these facts it would appear that if the wheat in question had been 

 adapted to our climate, or was susceptible of acclimation, and in other respects 

 a good variety, it would have gone into general cultivation long before this 

 time, as I take it for granted that an article that had been so extensively 

 distributed and so thoroughly experimented upon would have been retained and 

 universally cultivated, if it had been found valuable. During the 20 years of 

 my agricultural experience it has been presented to my notice at least 20 times. 

 Your obedient servant, 



Gideon B. Smith. 



The names Egyptian, Miracle, Mummy, and Wheat 3,000 Years 

 Old all are derived from one of the most common untrue stories 

 about this variety. The story varies somewhat in detail but in gen- 



