28 



Wheat Breeding in Canada. 



strength which generally characterises Red Fife flour. Preston and 

 Huron have a further but not very serious disadvantage of yield- 

 ing flour of a deeper yellowish colour than that made from Red 

 Fife. Stanley gives flour of the same shade as Red Fife. 



In addition to the three new varieties just mentioned, which 

 inherited their early-maturing qualities from a wheat from 

 Northern Russia, reference should be made to three other cross- 

 bred sorts, Marquis, Chelsea, and Bishop, which owe their easi- 

 ness largely to the fact that one of the parents in each case was 

 a very early wheat obtained from India. Marquis and Chelsea are 

 descended in part from Red Fife. Bishop is an Indo-Russian 

 cross. Of these newer varieties Marquis is perhaps the most 

 important, showing distinct superiority over the cross-bred 

 varieties first introduced in regard to the character of the flour, 

 which both in strength and in colour is practically identical with 

 Red Fife. Comparative baking tests carried on last winter with 

 samples frpm the crop of 1908 showed that Marquis grown at 

 Brandon, Manitoba, was equal in colour and strength of flour to 

 Red Fife grown on the same farm and was superior to Red Fife 

 grown at Indian Head, Saskatchewan. The differences observed 

 were not very great, and might perhaps be reversed another 

 season ; but the high strength of Marquis is fully established by 

 these and previous tests. Marquis is a beardless wheat having 

 hard red kernels, and resembling Red Fife in all respects, except 

 that it is earlier in ripening. It ripens about with Stanley, Preston, 

 and Huron. 



Chelsea is a very early, beardless wheat, satisfactory in all 

 respects except flour strength, in regard to which it ranks about 

 with Stanley and Preston. It closely resembles the new, selected 

 strain of Stanley, but seems to be earlier and perhaps more 

 productive than that variety. 



Bishop is a still earlier wheat, possessing many good qualities, 

 its remarkable productiveness being of special interest. It gives 

 a rich-looking, yellowish flour of good strength, but not equal to 

 the strongest varieties. In spite of its many admirable qualities 

 the fact that it possesses a pale, yellowish skin prevents us from 

 advising farmers to grow it for export ; the Canadian grain 

 inspection laws are based on the idea that wheats with a pale 

 skin are usually of inferior quality and the regulations in regard 

 to the grading are so worded as to make it practically impossible 

 for any farmer to obtain a fair price for a yellow (or so-called 

 "white") wheat in what is known as the Manitoba Inspection 

 Division. Bishop has succeeded remarkably well at almost all 

 points where it has been tested. As an instance of special interest 

 I may mention that a large yield per acre of grain weighing 

 65 lbs. to the measured bushel was obtained from this variety 



