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



pedicel (joint of the rachis) is long and wide, and after thrashing 

 remains attached to the face of the spikelet below the one which it 

 bears. The spikelets are two-kerneled, arched on the inner side, 

 and closely appressed to the rachis. The kernels, which remain in- 

 closed in the glumes after thrashing, are pale red, long, and laterally 

 compressed, and have an acute tip and a narrow, shallow crease. 



Spelt is grown commercially only to a slight extent in America. 

 The varieties often called " Speltz " in this country are not spelt 

 but emmer. A few varieties chiefly grown experimentally are sepa- 

 rated in the following key : 



KEY TO THE VARIETIES OF SPELT. 



Spike Awnless. 



Glumes Glabrous. 



Glumes White (Triticum spelta album Al.). Page. 



Spring Habit White Spring 196 



Winter Habit Alstroum 196 



Glumes Brown (T. s. rufum AL). 



Winter Habit ^ Red Winter 197 



Spike Awned. 



Glumes Glabrous; White (T. s. arduinii Al.). 



Winter Habit Bearded 197 



DESCRIPTIONS, HISTORY, AND DISTRIBUTION OF SPELT VARIETIES. 



WHITE SPRING. 



Description. — Plant spring habit, late, midtall; stem white, strong; spike 

 awnless, linear-fusiform, lax, erect; glumes glabrous, white, midlong, wide; 

 shoulders wide, square; beaks wide, obtuse, 0.5 mm. long; awns few, 1 to 8 

 mm. long; kernels red, long, semihard, elliptical, humped, curved, inclosed in 

 glumes ; germ small ; crease wide, shallow, pitted ; cheeks angular ; brush mid- 

 sized, long. 



A spike, glumes, a spikelet, and kernels of White Spring spelt are shown in 

 Plate LIX, A. 



History. — Obtained by the Department of Agriculture from J. M. Thorburn 

 & Co., seedsmen, of New York City, in 1904. 



Distribution. — Grown in experiments in North Dakota, but not known to 

 be grown commercially. 



ALSTROUM. 



DesaHption. — Plant winter habit, late, midtall; stem faintly purple, strong; 

 spike awnless, linear-fusiform, lax, inclined to nodding ; glumes glabrous, white, 

 midlong, narrow ; shoulders midwide, square ; beaks obtuse, 0.5 mm. long ; apical 

 awns usually wanting; kernels red, long, semihard, elliptical, humped, curved, 

 inclosed in glumes; germ small; crease wide, shallow; cheeks angular; brush 

 midsized, long. 



Alstroum differs from White Spring spelt chiefly in having a winter habit. 



History. — Alstroum spelt was obtained by the United States Department of 

 Agriculture in 1901 from the Washington Agricultural Experiment Station, Pull- 

 man, Wash. Its further history is undetermined. 



