AUSTRALIAN WHEAT VARIETIES. 17 
wheats by large differences. The average differences between the 
yields of White Federation and Hard Federation and that of White 
Australian are 11.0 ±5.4 and 7.4 ±4.3 bushels, respectively. Al- 
though not significant because of the large experimental error, 
they represent increases in yield of 59 and 45.9 per cent, respectively. 
White Federation has an average height of 49 inches. This is 
more than 2 inches taller than Sonora, but 1J inches shorter than 
Early Baart and 6 inches shorter than White Australian. Hard 
Federation is about an inch shorter than White Federation. Both 
varieties have strong, stiff straw and will not shatter as, badly as 
Early Baart if allowed to stand after they are fully ripe. Heads 
and grain of Hard Federation, White Australian, and Early Baart 
are shown in Plate I, figures 1 and 2, and in Plate II. 
SUMMARY OF YIELDS. 
Yields for two years at both Moro, Oreg., and Chico, Calif., indicate 
that Federation, Hard Federation, and White Federation have a 
yielding capacity in excess of commercial spring-wheat varieties now 
grown in these districts. These preliminary results show that Hard 
Federation is the highest yielding of the three varieties at Moro, 
while at Chico White Federation has outyielded it. Further experi- 
ments are necessary to determine which of the three varieties is the 
best yielder in each section. 
WATER REQUIREMENT. 
At Moro, Oreg., an attempt was made in 1919 to determine whether 
a lower water requirement was a reason for the apparent greater 
yielding capacity of the Hard Federation as compared with the 
Early Baart variety. A transpiration experiment was conducted 
in accordance with the methods used by Briggs and Shantz. 1 The 
term "water requirement" indicates the ratio of the weight of water 
absorbed by a plant during its growth to the weight of total dry 
matter or grain produced. Substantial cans of heavy galvanized 
corrugated iron were used in the experiment as soil containers for grow- 
ing the experimental plants. The determination of the quantity of 
vrater used by the varieties necessitated the measurement of the 
amount added to the soil during the growth of the plants and of the 
difference in the water content of the soil at the beginning and at the 
end of the experiment. The results obtained from the 1-year 
experiments are shown in Table VI. 
1 Briggs, L. J., and Shantz, H. L. The water requirement of plants. I.— Investigations in the Great 
Plains in 1910 and 1911. U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Plant Indus. Bui. 284, 49 p., 2 fig., 11 pi. 1913. 
