226 ESSAYS ON WHEAT 



Mr. Seager Wheeler of Eosthern his Kitchener and his 

 Red Bobs.' But of late years another method of improv- 

 ing cereals, that of cross-breeding, has been perfected and 

 already its application has led to the introduction of Mar- 

 quis and Prelude into the great spring-wheat region of 

 ITorth America and of the rust-resistant Little Joss into 

 England.* These cross-bred wheats combine the most de- 

 sirable characteristics of both their parents. Every year 

 now sees the advent of new varieties of wheat obtained by 

 one or the other of the two methods just described. Tak- 

 ing all these facts into consideration it seems not only quite 

 possible, but even likely, that at some time in the future 

 Marquis will be replaced by some other variety of wheat, 

 or perhaps by a succession of varieties, which will be su- 

 perior to it in one or more characteristics such as earliness, 

 yield, resistance to disease,* and so forth. Indeed, it is to 



by the dwarf Evening Primrose, Oenothera nanella, which arose 

 in one of de Vriea's plots at Amsterdam and which is only one-third 

 of the height of its tall parent Oenothera La/ma/rdkiana. 



3 Kitchener originated in 1911 from a single plant of Marquis 

 which to Mr. Wheeler's eye stood out from its fellows as a distinct 

 type. Red Bobs was selected from Bobs. In all probability, Daw- 

 son's Golden Chaff, Early Red Fife, Dwarf Marquis, and Kitchener 

 all came into existence in the first instance as mutations or sports 

 from a single parent. The writer is convinced, however, that Red 

 Bobs originated from the progeny of a natural cross, accidentally 

 occurring in Mr. Wheeler's plots, between Bobs and either Preston 

 or Early Red Fife. The evidence upon which this view is based, 

 is given in the Chapter on Red Bobs. 



* The pioneer producer of wheat hybrids in North America ap- 

 pears to have been C. G. Pringle of Charlotte, Vermont. He began 

 his work in 1877 and several varieties have received his name, some 

 of which have become standards. (P. T. Dondlinger, The Book of 

 Wheat, New York, 1912, p. 44.) Dr. William Saunders of Ottawa 

 began to cross wheats in 1888. 



B The wheat crops of the world suffer enormous diminution in 

 yield every year through such diseases as Rust, Smut, Wheat Scab, 

 and Root-rots. The attempt to produce disease-resisting cereals has 

 only just begun. 



