138 BULLETIN 1074, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Stoner can not be distinguished from Fulcaster by any character and is 

 here considered merely a strain of that variety. The history of Stoner has 

 been recorded by Ball and Leighty as follows (44, P- 15) : 



Stoner originated on the farm of Mr. K. B. Stoner, of Fincastle, near Roa- 

 noke, Va. It was first brought to the attention of the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture through a letter from Mr. Stoner, dated June 8, 1906. 

 In the spring of 1904 Mr. Stoner noticed a large bunch of grass in his garden ; 

 when headed it proved to be wheat. It had 142 stems, or tillers, and he became 

 impressed with the idea that it was a very wonderful wheat. Just how the 

 kernel of wheat became sown in the garden or from just what variety it came 

 Mr. Stoner does not know. The Fulcaster variety is commonly grown in that 

 section of Virginia, however, and the Bearded Purplestraw less commonly. 

 It is reasonable to suppose, therefore, that the Stoner wheat is a pure line 

 from one of these varieties, which it so closely resembles. 



Mr. Stoner increased his seed during the two years, 1905 and 1906, and dis- 

 tributed it in 1907, usually under the name "Miracle." Many extravagant 

 claims were made for it by Mr. Stoner and agents who handled the seed. Be- 

 cause of these claims it afterwards became known under many other names. 

 During 1911 and 1912 the variety was advertised and sold at $1 a pound by 

 the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Brooklyn, N. Y., under the leader- 

 ship of " Pastor " Russell. The names Eden, Famine, Millennium, Millennium 

 Dawn, New Light, Russellite, and Russell's Wonder are the result of the adver- 

 tising and distribution by " Pastor " Russell, who claimed the wheat to be a 

 creation in fulfillment of Biblical prophecy which would replenish the earth. 

 The name Eden was used to imply that the wheat came from the Garden of 

 Eden. Forty-to-One is the name which became applied to Stoner wheat, with 

 the inference that that was the ratio of its increase from the seed sown. The 

 names Half Bushel, Multiplier, Multiplying, Peck, Stooling, Two Peck, and 

 Three Peck became widely applied to the Stoner variety on account of the 

 claims made by Mr. Stoner that the wheat had such remarkable tillering or 

 stooling powers that only a small quantity of seed was necessary to sow an 

 acre. Kentucky Wonder is a name used for Stoner in Indiana. Marvelous 

 is a name which was used for Stoner wheat by J. A. Everitt ( O. K. Seed Co. ) , 

 Indianapolis, Ind., in 1908 and later. The wheat was widely distributed under 

 that name. Miracle, as shown above, is the name under which K. B. Stoner, 

 of Fincastle, Va., first distributed his variety. It was under this name that 

 some very extravagant claims were made for it ; which accounts in part for 

 the number of names which since have been applied to it. New Marvel or 

 Goose are names under which the variety was obtained in the vicinity of 

 Salem, Oreg. Wonderful is a name used for Stoner in Kansas. 



Stoner, or the names recorded after it in parentheses, was reported in 1919 

 from Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Ken- 

 tucky, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, 

 New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, 

 Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. 



Turkish Amber is the name of a wheat similar to Fulcaster, samples of which 

 have been obtained from the Pennsylvania Agricultural Experiment Station. 

 The name appears to have come into use about 1912. Winter King is the name 

 used for a sample of Fulcaster obtained from Table Rock, Pa. This name is 

 applied also to the Goldcoin and Poole varieties. 



MAMMOTH EED. 



Description. — Mammoth Red is practically identical with Fulcaster, except 

 for being slightly later and shorter and in having a slightly larger and harder 

 kernel. 



