ALASKA AND STOXER, OR " MIRACLE," WHEATS. 
17 
widely spaced plants in the breeding nursery each produced from 
10 to 50 heads. In any case the number varied with the rate of 
seeding and the fertility of the soil, which is true of all wheats. 
EXPLOITATION IN PHILADELPHIA. 
Mr. St oner's desire to have his wheat grown on a large scale in the 
Mississippi Valley has been noted already. He expected to have about 
800 bushels from the harvest of 1907. At some time in the summer 
of that year a Philadelphia promoter undertook the handling of the 
wheat and Mr. Stoner wrote to the United States Department of 
Agriculture that he now could 
get all the money necessary to 
promote the growing of his 
wheat on a large scale. 
The plan first proposed by this 
promoter was to lease a farm in 
Texas and increase the supply of 
seed rapidly. It seems that this 
plan was not carried out. 
In the early spring of 1908 the 
promoter organized a company 
to exploit this wheat, and a 20- 
page illustrated circular was is- 
sued. Plausible in most of its 
language, the circular contained 
several erroneous statements. 
For instance, it contained what 
was said to be the report of the 
Government agent who inspected 
the fields of Stoner (Miracle) 
wheat. The language was so changed, however, as to alter entirely 
the meaning of the report. The statement that in one field the 
Miracle wheat had yielded from 3 to 5 bushels more than other 
varieties on the same farm was made to read "two to three times 
the yield of other varieties.*' In like manner the figures for the 
average number of heads to each plant in the field and in the breed- 
ing nursery were greatly exaggerated. 
The plan proposed in this circular was to place the wheat with 
responsible farmers in each county of the wheat-growing States. 
The farmer receiving the seed was supposed to contract (1) to de- 
posit $5 for each bushel received. (2) to grow it exclusively for the 
promoting company, and (3) to receive $1.25 per bushel for all that 
he grew and also the return of his original deposits. The wheat was 
thus to be increased during the two years 1909 and 1910 and then 
Fig. 6. — Representative head of Fulcaster 
■wheat. (About half natural size.) 
