ALASKA AND STONER, OR MIRACLE, WHEATS. 



17 



widely spaced plants in the breeding nursery each produced from 

 10 to 50 heads. In any case the number varied with the rate of 

 seeding and the fertility of the soil, which is true of all wheats. 



EXPLOITATION IN PHILADELPHIA. 



Mr. Stoner's desire to have his wheat grown on a large scale in the 

 Mississippi Valley has been noted already. He expected to have about 

 800 bushels from the harvest of 1907. At some time in the summer 

 of that year a Philadelphia promoter undertook the handling of the 

 wheat and Mr. Stoner wrote to the United States Department of 

 Agriculture that he now could 

 get all the money necessary to 

 promote the growing of his 

 wheat on a large scale. 



The plan first proposed by this 

 promoter Avas to lease a farm in 

 Texas and increase the supply of 

 seed rapidly. It seems that this 

 plan was not carried out. 



In the early spring of 1908 the 

 promoter organized a company 

 to exploit this wheat, and a 20- 

 page illustrated circular was is- 

 sued. Plausible in most of its 

 language, the circular contained 

 several erroneous statements. 

 For instance, it contained what 

 w^as said to be the report of the 

 Government agent wdio inspected 

 the fields of Stoner (Miracle) 

 wheat. The language was so changed, however, as to alter entirely 

 the meaning of the report. The statement that in one field the 

 Miracle wheat had yielded from 3 to 5 bushels more than other 

 varieties on the same farm was made to read " two to three times 

 the yield of other varieties." In like manner the figures for the 

 average number of heads to each plant in the field and in the breed- 

 ing nursery were greatly exaggerated. 



The plan proposed in this circular was to place the wheat with 

 responsible farmers in each county of the wheat-growing States. 

 The farmer receiving the seed was supposed to contract (1) to de- 

 posit $5 for each bushel received, (2) to grow it exclusively for the 

 promoting company, and (3) to receive $1.25 per bushel for all that 

 he grew and also the return of his original deposits. The wheat was 

 thus to be increased during the two years 1909 and 1910 and then 



Fig. 6. — Representative head of Fulcaster 

 wheat. (About half natural size.) 



