208 



Macaroni Wheat. 



[JULY, 



about the same as the Preston. Two other varieties, known 

 as Huron and Percy, have been produced, which have ripened 

 from four to five days earlier than the Red Fife. 



Another variety, known as the Early Riga, was obtained by 

 crossing an East Indian wheat named Gehun, brought from 

 a high elevation in the Himalayas, with a Russian wheat 

 brought from near Archangel, one of the most northerly wheat - 

 growing districts in Russia. The Early Riga has proved to 

 be one of the earliest ripening wheats known, and during the 

 five years it has been under trial it has ripened, on an average, 

 from eight to nine days earlier than Red Fife. 



These cross-bred wheats have been submitted to various 

 milling experts with satisfactory results, and they appear to 

 compare favourably with Red Fife both as to quality and 

 yield. Apart from the likelikood of escaping injury by early 

 frost, it is pointed out that the difficulties connected with 

 cutting a large acreage of wheat which all ripens together can 

 be overcome by sowing part of the land with an earlier ripening 

 sort. 



These experiments have now been placed under the charge 

 of an officer known as the Experimentalist, and during the 

 past season 503 plots were cultivated for testing the qualities 

 of some 430 varieties of plants, including, in addition to wheat, 

 oats, barley, other cereals, and roots. 



The cultivation of macaroni wheat, known botanically as 

 Triticum durum, to distinguish it from ordinary bread wheat, 

 or Triticum vulgare, has recently been 

 introduced into the United States by the 

 Department of Agriculture. Samples of 

 the best varieties were obtained from the 

 Russian provinces north of the Sea of 

 Azov, the home of the best macaroni wheats, where the 

 climatic conditions bear a striking resemblance to those 



Introduction of 

 Macaroni Wheat 



into the 

 United States. 



