CLASSIFICATION OF AMERICAN WHEAT VARIETIES. 39 



(133) and by Vilmorin (199) as one of the leading taxonomic char- 

 acters of wheat. Heuze and Koernicke and Werner have indicated 

 various shades of white or yellow and of red in the descriptions of 

 the kernel color. Eriksson (88) believed that white wheat becomes 

 red and states that the color of grain is useless in distinguishing a 

 variety. Cobb (69) arranged the wheats he was growing according 

 to the color tint from lightest to darkest. Howard and Howard 

 (121, p. 288) regard the wheat kernel as being either white or red. 

 They state that "the particular tone or color depends partly on 

 the consistency of the grain." Hayes, Bailey, Amy, and Olson 

 (105) proposed the use of the terms " red " and " white " in describ- 

 ing the presence and absence of a brownish red pigment in the bran 

 layer. The use of the modification " light red " was suggested where 

 the degree of pigmentation was less than usual in the red wheats. 

 Three varieties of Abyssinian wheat having violet-colored kernels 

 were mentioned by Koernicke and Werner (133). The writers have 

 grown some purple-kerneled wheats from Abyssinia, but they are not 

 considered in the present classification of the American varieties. 



Kernels of all varieties are here grouped into two classes, described 

 as white and red. Here, as in the glume colors, many different shades 

 are present. In general, however, the two classes distinctly separate 

 all wheats. Kernels showing the two colors and some of the varia- 

 tions that are found in normal and starchy samples are illustrated in 

 Plate VII, Figure 1. 



Kernels of the white class may vary from cream to yellowish, or 

 they may be white, without pigment. White or faintly pigmented 

 kernels may appear to have different shades of yellow color, because 

 of differences in texture of the endosperm. Different textures of en- 

 dosperm, ranging from starchiness to horniness, result in different 

 color shades varying from white to yellow. 



Kernels of the red class may vary from light brown to the darker 

 shades of red. The variations are due to varietal, differences and 

 environment. Differences in texture, due to varying conditions, may 

 cause " yellow berries," which sometimes gives the kernels a mottled 

 appearance. 



Many American writers have classed some varieties as " amber." 

 This usually refers to a white kernel having a translucent or vitreous 

 endosperm. The term " amber " is used to designate a certain sub- 

 class of durum wheat in the U. S. Official Grain Standards. Hard 

 red kernels frequently have been referred to as amber colored. The 

 word " amber " also has been used as a part of a varietal name, such 

 as Martin Amber, which is a soft white wheat, and Michigan Amber, 

 which is a soft red wheat. Because of this ambiguity and because 

 all American wheats are either red or white, the word " amber " should 

 not be used in describing wheat kernels. 



