WHEAT 111 



kernels are usually produced in the spikelets than in the 

 spikelets of common wheats. Their general methods 

 of culture are similar to those of the common wheats. 



96. Poulard wheat. — Poulard wheats are distinguished 

 by their tall, stiff straws, sometimes filled with pith, 

 broad, hairy, or velvety leaves, broad heads with short 

 bristly beards, and large, hard kernels. Poulard wheats 

 are not grown, except in an experimental way, in the 

 United States. They are grown in Turkey, Russia, 

 France, Egypt, and other countries bordering the Medi- 

 terranean Sea. The flour made from them is used to some 

 extent in the manufacture of macaroni, and in the making 

 of bread, by mixing it with flour from common wheat. 



97. Durum wheat. — This type is very similar to the 

 poulard wheats, some varieties, in fact, being hard to 

 distinguish from them. It differs from the poulard 

 wheat in having smooth leaves, long, heavy beards, and 

 rather pointed, hard, semi-transparent kernels. The 

 beards of durum wheat, together with the shape of the 

 head, give to it, when seen at a little distance, the appear- 

 ance of bearded barley. The kernels are the hardest of 

 any of the wheats. Durum wheats are nearly all spring 

 varieties, adapted to hot, dry climates, and grow well in 

 soils that are slightly alkaline. They are, therefore, well 

 adapted to the semi-arid sections of the Western States, 

 and will grow in soils that contain too much alkali to 

 grow the common varieties. It has been said that the 

 introduction of the durum wheats into the United States 

 has greatly increased our annual production of wheat by 

 extending the wheat-growing area into the dry alkali 

 regions, where the common varieties would not produce 

 a profitable yield. They have been grown in the United 

 States only within the past 30 years. Durum wheat is 



