92 BULLETIN 10*74, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



BED FIFE. 



Description. — Plant spring habit, midseason, rnidtall; stem white, strong; 

 spike awnless, fusiform, middense, erect to inclined; glumes glabrous, white, 

 midlong, midwide ; shoulders midwide, oblique to square ; beaks narrow, acute, 

 0.5 to 1.0 mm. long ; apical awns few, 2 to 5 mm. long ; kernels red, short to 

 midlong, hard, ovate ; germ midsized ; crease wide, deep ; cheeks angular ; brush 

 midsized, midlong. 



This variety differs from Marquis in being taller and later, with kernels 

 slightly longer and more pointed. It is a fairly good yielder and an excellent 

 milling and bread-making wheat. Spikes, glumes, and kernels of Red Fife 

 wheat are shown in Plate XXI, B. 



History. — Red Fife wheat was introduced into the United States from Galicia, 

 by way of Germany, Scotland, and Canada. Several conflicting stories of its 

 introduction have been written. The most authentic story is that, about 1842, 

 David Fife, of Otonabee, Ontario, Canada, received a small sample of wheat 

 from a friend in Glasgow, Scotland. The friend had obtained the sample from 

 a shipload of wheat from the port of Danzig in Germany, but supposedly of 

 Russian origin. Mr. Fife sowed the wheat in the spring, but it proved to be a 

 winter wheat. A plant of spring wheat developed, however, which was saved 

 and increased. From it descended the wheat which became known as Red Fife 

 throughout Canada. The details of this introduction and several interesting 

 traditions concerning it have been fully recorded by Buller (50, p. 206-218). 

 That the original seed of Red Fife wheat probably came from Galicia has been 

 established by two other identical introductions, one by the Canadian Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture in 1904 (165, p. 216-217), and another (C. I. No. 2463) by 

 the United States Department of Agriculture in the same year (39, p. 11). 



The cultivation of Red Fife wheat in the United States dates from 1860, when 

 J. W. Clarke, a Wisconsin farmer, had an excellent crop (68). The name Red 

 Fife was never commonly adopted, the word " Fife " being the name most often 

 used. As the wheat increased in popularity and cultivation, other names be- 

 came applied to it. 



Many growers selected and distributed the Red Fife wheat and usually pre- 

 fixed their own name to the name Fife. Among these are the following : Ber- 

 nard Fife, Herman Fife, McKendry Fife, McKissick Fife, Pillsbury Fife, Ver- 

 don Fife, and Wilcox Fife. Wheats once known under these names have long 

 since disappeared from culture. 



Distribution. — Grown as Fife in Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, 

 Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, 

 New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, 

 Utah, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. This distribution combined with 

 that of the Power and Glyndon varieties is shown in Figure 35. 



Synonyms. — Canadian Fife, Fife, Saskatchewan Fife, Scotch Fife. Cana- 

 dian Fife and Scotch Fife are names which were early used for the Red Fife 

 wheat in the United States. Both these names have continued in use until 

 the present time. 



Saskatchewan Fife is a selected strain of Red Fife distributed by D. L. 

 Wellman, of Frazee, Becker County, Minn., in 1878. Mr. Wellman received 

 a pint package of Red Fife wheat from W. J. Abernethy, agricultural editor 

 of the Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn. He grew this wheat for a number of 

 years and selected it carefully, roguing out all mixtures. In the fall of 

 1883 he had a stock of 1,300 bushels which he put on the market as Saskatche- 



