DISCOVERY OF MAEQUIS WHEAT 171 



that of most other varieties. The kernels are rather 

 short, very plump, and of a particularly rich red color, 

 qualities which make the wheat pleasing to the eye and 

 admirable for exhibition purposes. The flour produced 

 in the mill is of a pale cream-yellow color, similar to that 

 of the old standard varieties, Eed Fife and Bluestem ; and, 

 for the production of loaves of large volume, it is fully 

 equal to, if not better than, that of the older sorts. 



Messrs. Ball and Clark, of the Office of Cereal Investiga- 

 tions at Washington, have described Marquis, as grown 

 in the United States, as follows : 



" In all important characters Marquis closely resembles 

 the wheats of the Fife group, so commonly grown in the 

 northern Great Plains States. It is therefore included 

 in the Fife group. It will be remembered that the Red 

 Fife was the male parent of Marquis and that it doubt- 

 less was selected for Fife characters. 



" The Marquis is a beardless spring wheat, with white 

 glabrous glumes and broad and short hard red kernels. 

 In general it differs from the true Fife varieties in its 

 shorter straw, shorter spike, shorter glumes, and shorter, 

 broader kernel. 



" The plants are of only medium height, ranging from 

 28 to 48 inches, according to season. They generally are 

 2 to 4: inches shorter than those of the Glyndon and 

 Power wheats. The straw is stiff and stands up well 

 under unfavorable weather conditions. The spikes are 

 short, varying from 2.5 to 4 inches in length. They aver- 

 age one-half to 1 inch shorter than those of other varieties 

 of the Fife group. Two or three awns usually are found 

 at the tip of the head, as in other beardless wheats. 



" The glumes of the Marquis variety are short and 

 broad. The variety usually can be recognized, even before 

 the seed is ripe, by this character and by its lower stature. 



