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



PELIS S ( PELIS SIEK ) . 



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

 spike awned, broadly fusiform, middense, inclined ; glumes glabrous, white, 

 long, wide ; shoulders narrow to midwide, oblique to elevated ; beaks 1 to 5 

 mm. long; awns black, 6 to 18 cm. long; kernels white (amber), very long, 

 hard, elliptical, curved, humped; germ midsized; crease midwide, middeep; 

 cheeks angular; brush small, short. 



Peliss is distinct from Kubanka in having white rather than yellowish glumes, 

 black awns, and very long kernels, which are somewhat curved. It is a 

 high-yielding and drought-resistant variety in the higher and drier sections 

 of Montana and Wyoming. A spike, glumes, and kernels of Peliss are shown in 

 Plate LV, B. 



History— The Peliss (Pelissier) (197, S. P. I. No. 5380) variety was in- 

 troduced from Mustapha, Algiers, Algeria, by W. T. Swingle, of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture, in 1900. The variety, presumably of Spanish 

 origin, is widely distributed throughout northern Africa, where it is grown 

 under many different names. According to Scofield (112, p. 38) the original 

 seed was obtained from a man named Pelissier, who lived near Ponts des 

 Issers in the western part of the Province of Oran and who did some work 

 in selection to improve the yield of this variety. In the United States the 

 variety was first called Pelissier, but the name was usually mispronounced, 

 so the shorter and simpler form, Peliss, was substituted in 1920 (66, p. 10). 



Distribution. — Grown in experiments in the northern Great Plains area and 

 commercially in Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming. 



Synonym. — Black-Bearded durum. This name is used for Peliss by some 

 growers in North Dakota not acquainted with its correct name. 



ACME. 



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

 midstrong; spike awned, fusiform, middense, inclined to nodding; glumes 

 glabrous, yellowish, midlong, midwide ; shoulders midwide, usually oblique ; 

 beaks broad, incurved, 1 mm. long; awns yellowish, 5 to 15 cm. long; kernels 

 white (amber) midlong to long, hard, elliptical to ovate; germ midsized; crease 

 midwide, shallow ; cheeks angular ; brush midsized, short. 



Acme differs principally from Kubanka in being shorter, in having weaker 

 straw, and a longer, laxer, and narrower spike. It is very resistant to stem 

 rust and is a high-yielding variety. A spike, glumes, and kernels of Acme are 

 shown in Plate LVI, A. 



History. — The Acme variety originated as a pure-line selection from Kubanka 

 (G. I. No. 1516) made by Manley Champlin, a representative of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture, in cooperative experiments with the South Dakota 

 Agricultural Experiment Station at the Highmore Substation, Highmore, S. Dak., 

 in 1909. The selection was first known as No. 7. By 1914 it had been increased 

 from the breeding nursery to the plats because of its high yields, and in 1916 

 it was grown commercially. In the rust epidemic of that year it was discovered 

 to be resistant to stem rust. As it differs from the true Kubanka, it was given 

 a distinctive name. The strain of Kubanka from which the Acme was selected 

 was obtained by the United States Department of Agriculture at the Paris Ex- 

 position, in 1900. The seed came from the Samara Government, Russia. Al- 

 though introduced and grown under the name of Kubanka, this lot is not iden- 

 tical with the true Kubanka and is much like Acme, but was not pure or as re- 

 sistant to rust. 



