Varieties of Wheat and Methods of Improving them. 247 
capable of withstanding cold, wot, poverty, starvation, and over- 
luxuriance ; lie cannot work miracles, but it is marvellous what 
he can do. 
Spalding has been sometimes described as the best of all 
red wheats, which has repeatedly produced 8 qrs. per acre in 
Norfolk, Suffolk, Lincolnshire, and other counties. Its ears are 
large, the grain bold, and the straw tall, strong, and stiff". All 
we know of its origin is the story of its first appearance, when a 
farm-labourer named Spalding discovered it while wielding the 
flail in his masters barn at Barningham, Suffolk. Observing a 
few remarkably fine ears in a sheaf he had opened, he saved the 
seeds, planted them in his garden, and saved the produce for 
three years, when he sold his whole growth, and the first crop 
yielded more than 8 qrs. per acre. Spalding's work as an im- 
prover is similar in its character to that of many others, though 
the productive habit of the wheat certainly makes this a con- 
spicuous example of what may be done by the selection of ears 
on which nature has set a favourable stamp. 
The well-known Broirick Red Wheat resembles Spalding, and 
has received improvement under the care of Mr. Banham and 
others. The good points of this wheat are its vigorous character 
and productive habit, and its tolerance of cold clays and gravels 
where few other sorts would thrive. It should be sown early, 
that is, in October. 
Mr. SclioJei/s Sqtiare Head has become a very popular and 
widespread wheat. In fact it is a fashionable sort, of which it 
may be said that it was selected for its merits by a tenant-farmer, 
and has not been subjected to artificial treatment. Mr. Scholey 
found the parent ear of this variety in a garden wheat plot near 
Goole, Yorkshire, and propagated it. The crop of 1867 pro- 
duced 81 bushels per acre, weighing 63 lbs. per bushel. Mr. 
Scholey tried his selected against other approved varieties for 
several years, and in 1873 he sowed against it the best seed of 
Kessingland Red, Rough Chaff" White, Hunter's White, Golden 
Drop, Browick Red, and Mr. George Hope's Fenton, and it beat 
them all. As Browick was a very favoui'ite sort, he had already 
tried it against Square Head every year for the previous 
five years, and his own sort had always proved the most pro- 
ductive, sometimes to the extent of more than ten bushels per acre. 
Mr. Scholey had made repeated selections, always beginning 
with the produce of a superior ear. His wheat possesses a short 
club ear — the spikelets standing close together — and short stiff" 
straw, and stands up well on rich well-farmed land, when most 
other kinds become laid. The ear is well filled, and develops 
both at top and bottom, where many varieties are deficient. 
