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



The variety is said to have originated from a shipment of Russian wheat 

 which was made into Algeria at the time of a famine many years ago. 



Distribution. — Fretes wheat has been grown in experiments at many stations 

 in the drier sections of the United States, where it has proved a high-yielding, 

 drought-resistant variety. Its weak straw largely has prevented it from be- 

 coming an important commercial variety. It was reported in 1919 from Los 

 Angeles County, Calif., and was formerly grown to some extent in that county. 



DIXON (HUMPBACK II). 



Description. — Plant spring habit, late, tall; stem white, midstrong; spike 

 awned, fusiform, lax, inclined ; glumes glabrous, white, long, narrow ; shoulders 

 usually wanting ; beaks wide, 3 to 10 mm. long ; awns 4 to 7 cm. long ; kernels 

 pale red, midlong to long, semihard, ovate, humped ; germ midsized ; crease mid- 

 wide, deep, sometimes pitted; cheeks rounded to angular; brush midsized, 

 long. 



This variety is distinguished by the humped kernels, the absence of shoul- 

 ders on the glumes, and the wide lax spikes. The kernels have a smaller 

 brush and germ than Humpback. 



History. — The origin of Dixon is undetermined. It has been grown in Wis- 

 consin for many years. The name Dixon is here chosen as a name for Hump- 

 back II or Smooth Humpback, as the two varieties are practically identical. 

 The Humpback variety originated from field selections made by J. P. Berglund, 

 a farmer living near Kensington, Minn. (190, p. 1). The original head was 

 probably the result of a natural field hybrid. Two strains were developed, one 

 with pubescent glumes and one with glabrous glumes. The glabrous-glumed 

 strain was distributed a few years later than the pubescent strain, which was 

 distributed about 1905. 



Distribution. — Grown in Buffalo County, Wis. Humpback wheat was re- 

 ported from Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and 

 Wisconsin. Replies to the questionnaires do not show which strain of Hump- 

 back wheat is grown. It is thought by the writers, however, that this glabrous 

 strain, Dixon, is grown to a greater extent than the true Humpback. The acre- 

 age of both strains is decreasing. 



Synonyms. — Humpback II, Johnson, and Smooth Humpback. The name 

 Humpback II was first used for this glabrous-glumed strain of Humpback in 

 1920 (66, p. 7). Johnson is a wheat which contains strains practically identi- 

 cal with Humpback II. Johnson is fully discussed under synonyms of Preston. 

 Smooth Humpback is the name sometimes used for this glabrous-glumed strain 

 of Humpback wheat in order to distinguish it from the pubescent strain called 

 Humpback or Bearded Bluestem. 



CHUL. 



Description. — Plant spring habit, early, short to midtall; stem white, weak, 

 spike awned, fusiform, lax, inclined; glumes glabrous, white, midlong, mid- 

 wide ; shoulders midwide, oblique to apiculate ; beaks 5 to 45 mm. long ; awns 

 3 to 10 cm. long ; kernels red, long, hard, ovate, tapering, humped ; germ small ; 

 crease wide, shallow ; cheeks angular ; brush small, midlong. 



Chul differs from Talimka only in having red kernels. The kernels are large, 

 very hard, and somewhat similar to kernels of durum wheat. A spike of Chul 

 wheat is shown in Plate VI, Figure 1. 



History.— Chul was introduced into the United States in 1902 (197, S. P. I. 

 No. 9131) from Russian Turkestan by the United States Department of Agricul- 

 ture through E. A. Bessey. The seed was obtained from Dzhizak, a town about 

 100 miles northwest of Samarcand. There it is grown on the steppes without 

 irrigation and is both fall and spring sown. The original seed was a mixture 



