CLASSIFICATION OF AMERICAN WHEAT VARIETIES. 



125 



The wheat now grown in the Northwest, ordinarily known as a Bluestem, 

 was grown 40 years ago (1855) in some Eastern States as a Red Winter 

 wheat. Being semihard when grown in the East, since being changed into a 

 spring wheat and grown in the hard-wheat district of the Northwest, it is 

 now hard and the berry as beautiful an amber as can be found. . . . 



In 1882 a friend recommended this wheat to me so highly that I was induced 

 to try it. I bought some and sowed it that year, and grew it again in 1883. 

 I was much pleased with its strong growth and good yield, but one difficulty 

 had to be overcome. It evidently had not had the necessary care to keep it 

 pure and had become mixed with soft and bearded wheats, which rendered 

 it quite objectionable for sowing. To overcome this objection I resolved to 

 grow it pure, knowing that it would take years to do it, yet I thought it would 

 repay the time and trouble in the end. I accordingly commenced by planting 

 in my garden in 1884 the grains from two good heads, having three kernels 

 abreast, hoeing it as it grew. While it was growing, in studying over the 

 matter I came to the conclusion that " blood would tell " in the vegetable as 

 well as the animal kingdom by propagating from the best. 



From the product of these two heads I rejected the latest and poorest heads, 

 using only the best and earliest for use upon my trial grounds. . . . 



The trial grounds are planted each year with wheat from the choicest heads 

 of the previous year and cultivated, the product being carefully selected, 

 head by head, and the crop, except what is necessary to replant the ground, 

 is sown with the field grain, thereby causing gradual improvement from year 

 to year. 11 



Mr. Haynes distributed this wheat widely throughout the Dakotas and Min- 

 nesota for several years, starting about 1892. As shown in this history, Blue- 

 stem wheat was grown in the 

 Dakotas before Mr. Haynes origi- 

 nated his strain. As he has 

 recorded, it probably was grown 

 in the eastern United States as 

 a winter wheat before being 

 grown as a spring wheat in the 

 Northwest. Haynes Bluestem 

 wheat was further improved by 

 the Minnesota Agricultural Ex- 

 periment Station. A pure-line 

 selection, first known as Minne- 

 sota No. 169, Was developed and 

 distributed by that institution in 

 the late nineties (109, p. 69-72). This strain also has been known as Haynes 

 Bluestem, and is now the principal strain grown under that name. The name 

 Bluestem now is most commonly used for this whole group of Bluestem wheats 

 and also as a farm name for the variety. This is correct in some cases. As the 

 original Bluestem and the strains and pure lines can not be distinguished from 

 each other, the name Haynes Bluestem is used here to distinguish this wheat 

 from five other important varieties of wheat commonly known as Bluestem in 

 the United States and to retain its identity with the old and well-known name 

 Bluestem. 



Distribution. — Grown principally as Bluestem in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, 

 Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and 

 Wisconsin. Figure 49 shows the distribution of this variety. 



Synonyms. — Bluestem, Bolton Bluestem, Marvel Bluestem, Minnesota No. 169, 

 Velvet Bluestem. As shown above, Bluestem was the earliest and is still the 

 most commonly used name for Haynes Bluestem wheat. Bolton Bluestem was 

 obtained originally from Thomas Bolton, of Park River, N. Dak., by the North 



Fig. 49. — Outline map of the north-central 

 United States,, showing the distribution of 

 Haynes Bluestem wheat in 1919. Estimated 

 area, 1,530,800 acres, 



17 The pamphlet was borrowed from Walter R. Reed, of Amenia, N. Dak. 



