186 BULLETIX 1074, IJ. S. DEPART^IEXT OF AGRICULTURE. 
PELISS (PELISSIEE). 
Description. — Plant spring habit, midseason, tall; stem white, midstrong; 
spike awned, broadly fusiform, middeuse, inclined; glumes glabrous, white, 
long, wide ; shoulders narrow to midwide, oblique to elevated ; beaks 1 to 5 
mm. long; awns black, 6 to 18 cm. long; kernels white (amber), very long, 
hard, elliptical, curved, humped ; germ midsized ; crease midwide, middeep ; 
cheeks angular: brush small, short. 
Peliss is distinct from Kubanka in having white rather than yellowish glumes, 
black awns, and very long kernels, which are somewhat curved. It is a 
high-yielding and drought-resistant variety in the higher and drier sections 
of Montana and Wyoming. A spike, glumes, and kernels of Peliss are shown in 
Plate LV, B. 
History.— The Peliss (Pelissier) {197\ S. P. I. No. 5380) variety was in- 
troduced from Mustapha, Algiers. Algeria, by W. T. Swingle, of the United 
States Department of Agriculture, in 1900. The variety, presumably of Spanish 
origin, is widely distributed throughout northern Africa, where it is grown 
under many different names. According to Scofield {172, p. 38) the original 
seed was obtained from a man named Pelissier, who lived near Ponts des 
Issers in the western part of the Province of Oran and who did some work 
in selection to improve the yield of this variety. In the United States the 
variety was first called Pelissier, but the name was usually mispronounced, 
so the shorter and simpler form, Peliss, was substituted in 1920 (66. p. 10). 
Distribution. — Grown in experiments in the northern Great Plains area and 
commercially in Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming. 
Synonym. — Black-Bearded durum. This name is used for Peliss by some 
growers in North Dakota not acquainted with its correct name. 
Description. — Plant spring habit, midseason, midtall ; stem white, weak to 
midstrong; spike awned. fusiform, middense, inclined to nodding; glumes 
glabrous, yellowish, midlong, midwide; shoulders midwide, usually oblique; 
beaks broad, incurved, 1 mm. long; awns yellowish, 5 to 15 cm. long; kernels 
white (amber) midlong to long, hard, elliptical to ovate; germ midsized; crease 
midwide. shallow ; cheeks angular ; brush midsized, short. 
Acme differs principally from Kubanka in being shorter, in having weaker 
sti-aw, and a longer, laxer, and narrower spike. It is very resistant to stem 
rust and is a high-yielding variety. A siDike, glumes, and kernels of Acme are 
shown in Plate LYI, A. 
History. — The Acme variety originated as a pure-line selection from Kubanka 
(C. I. No. 1516) made by Manley Champlin, a representative of the United States 
Department of Agriculture, in cooperative experiments with the South Dakota 
Agricultural Experiment Station at the Highmore Substation, Highmore, S. Dak., 
in 1909. The selection was first knovrn as No. 7. By 1914 it had been increased 
from the breeding nursery to the plats because of its high yields, and in 1916 
it was grown commercially. In the rust epidemic of that year it was discovered 
to be resistant to stem rust. As it differs from the true Kubanka, it was given 
a distinctive name. The strain of Kubanka from which the Acme was selected 
was obtained by the United States Department of Agriculture at the Paris Ex- 
po.'iition, in 1900. The seed came from the Samara Government. Russia. Al- 
though introduced and grown under the name of Kubanka. this lot is not iden- 
tical with the true Kul^anka and is much like Acme. l)Ut was not pure or as re- 
sistant to rust. 
