654 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
SEPT. 12 
have either been inter bred or the cross-breeds have received 
pollen from other kinds under trial. A bearded variety 
has never been used as the mother plant, an interesting 
fact when it may be said that in the collection there are 
to-day more bearded than beardless strains. 
As a rule, little can be known of the value of a cross¬ 
breed the first year it is raised. The plants generally re¬ 
semble the mother. The seeds sown from these crosses, 
however, will produce plants that vary considerably or 
decidedly. By selections for from three to five years dis¬ 
tinct kinds may be fixed, though a small per cent of varia¬ 
tion is still likely to occur. The “rogues” must be de¬ 
stroyed, or, if so desired, they may be propagated sepa¬ 
rately until their distinctive parts become 
fixed. Of late years our crosses and hybrids 
(wheat rye) have so multiplied, as the re¬ 
sult or crossing every year, that only a few 
heads of the seeming-best are selected for 
future culture. All others are destroyed, 
their numbers, no doubt, reaching into the 
thousands. 
The six varieties now under consideration 
were the first of our crosses and hybrids to 
become fixed. Small samples were, last 
year, sent to the readers of The R N.-Y. 
and a great number of reports have been 
received, most of them favorable beyond 
all expectation. It is but fair to presume 
that as these were the earliest results of 
the work, later varieties may prove more 
valuable. It is to be deplored that several 
kinds have been mixed. Whether this hap¬ 
pened here (Rural Grounds) or with those 
who grew them for introduction is not 
known. Both parties are equally confident 
that mixing could not have occurred. It 
would appear from the reports received 
that a part of Bailey must have been sown 
with Stewart, as the Stewart samples came ^ 
to us about half Bailey (beardless) and half 
true Stewart (bearded). 
The Rye-Wheat Hybrids. / 
For several years little hope was enter- /Y| 
tained that anything of much worth would i I 
come out of the rye wheat cross. It is dif- j||| 
ferent now. As they have been further V/mv. 
crossed and selected there is good reascn /(' JSmi 
for the belief that these hybrids will have (m/fjfHJA 
an emphatic effect in changing the dis- 
tlnctly wheat and rye area of the country. l|\V( 41 
Fig. 237 presents a front and side view of // KKir 
a rye wheat hybrid of much promise. The 
stems are remarkably stout and strong, the jy^ 
leaves broad, the kernels large and hard, 1 4 Wf I 
with four and five to a breast. Beneath the \Jm ft 
heads, the culms for a distance of an inch 
or two will be seen to be hairy. They ai e f jfjf 
not hairy but downy, a characteristic that 
could not well be shown by the artist; or, 
perhaps velvety, like the chaff of Velvet- 
chaff heads, would better describe it. These j^jjt 
hybrids are grown In a soil and climate f 
not well suited to wheat-growing. The ipuj 
same kinds raised in good wheat lands 
would, we fancy, give larger heads than 
any shown among the present prize-takers. 
AWARD OF PRIZES. 
First Prize $ 1 O. ||7J 
Awarded to T. Chaplin, Campbellford, Ont., Canada; 
weight of 18 heads, three of each kind, Sli ounces. jM 
Second Prize $5. I|| j 
S. N. Morgan, Heppner, Oregon; weight of 18 heads, j III 
three of each, ounces. j j I 
Those Who Came Nearest. ,|J 
Frank Ward. Englewood, N. J., weight. S9< ounces If I 
Isaac Alter, Paradise Valley, Cal , weight, 8 J 4 ounces. Ill 
L. Rkes. Eagle Point Oregon weight, 3%, ounces. 
Mary McKenzie Centennial Park. South Dakota, |! 
weight. 8M ounfes. I I ! 
Robt. L. Kline, Welcome, Wash., weight, 8)4 ounces. 
George Matthews, Nutwood, Ind., weight,294 ounces. I 
James P. Hoi.’-, Carrolltown, Pa., weight, 2^ ounces. 
Agricultural College, Mich. (R. C. Campbell, I 
student), weight, 2% ounces. V 'I 
A. England, Hillsdale, Mich., weight, 2^ ounces. U I 
J. C. Grossman, Wolcottville, Ind., weight, 2^6ounces. I 1 
F. Hodgman, Climax. Mich., weight, 2U- ounces. ' ' 
Geo. R. Price, Proctor, W.Virginia, weight, 2M ounces j 
Richard Haslett, Parkhill, Out., weight, 296 ounces. I 
Wm. Crozier, Fayetteville, Ark., weight, 2H ounces. « 
Joseph Brumlky, Belmore, Ohio, weight, 2% ounces. \ 
David Osborn, Plainville, N. Y., weight, 2‘4 ounces. \ 
C. W. Kneli y. Drum’s, Pa., weight, 2)4 ounces. \ 
Edwin F. Hadley, Bloomingdale, Ind., weight, 2*4 
ounces. 
A. H. Duyhoek, Ringgold, Md., weight, 2 ouuces. 
Description of the Prize Heads. 
Bailey prize heads average 10 breasts to a side and five 
grains to the breast, making 100 kernels to the head. A 
pure wheat cross. Early. Chaff white, beardless. Grain 
medium to small in size, hard and of amber color. 
Willits averages 11 breasts to a side of six kernels each 
or 132 to the head. Half wheat, half rye by parentage, 
though resembling wheat in all respects. Nearly as early 
as rye. Tall, yellow, stiff straw. Chaff white, beardless. 
Graio amber colored and hard. 
Roberts averages 10 breasts of five kernels each or 
100 to the head. Half wheat, half rye by parentage, 
though resembling wheat in all respects. Nearly as 
early as rye to ripen. Tall, yellow, stiff straw. Chaff 
WHEAT-RYE HYBRIDS. Fig. 237. 
brown, bearded. Kernels rather small and of dark amber 
not thrashed the wheat yet. I intend to send samples in 
the head to several of the fairs.” ISAAC ALTER. 
Paradise Valley, Cal. 
“ I send The Rural New-Yorker samples of wheat to 
compete for the prizes. The Beal will shrink somewhat, 
as it is not ripe. In the Stewart plot about two thirds 
was bearded. The Willits is the only kind without beards, 
and there were a few hills of some other kinds with it. 
Beal and Willits are the latest to ripen: not ripe at this 
date, August 1. There is very little difference in the 
others, Stewart and Roberts being a little the earliest. 
The wheat was planted, as directed, on ground that was in 
potatoes last year, and there was no irrigation. Early in 
the spring the ground was loosened with a 
garden rake, and all of the weeds were 
destroyed. I did not mulch the plot in the 
fall, as all of my straw and manure were 
r mixed with grain that would grow. I 
threw a few potato vines over one end of 
the plot, but they did more harm than 
good.” 8. N. MORGAN. 
Heppner, Oreg. 
“I send The R. N.-Y. six heads each of 
the hybrid wheats in competition for the 
premiums offered. I was obliged to cut my 
wheat before it was fully matured to save 
It from the English sparrows, and expect 
y It will shrink. The wheats, especially 
Willits and Stewart, were badly mixed, 
, so much so that in the case of the latter I 
' am not sure of the type, but send that 
which I suppose to be right.” 
Climax, Mich. F. HODGMAN. 
“ I mail samples of the Rural wheats. I 
planted them September 23d, in potato 
ground prepared with the Cutaway harrow 
and smoothed with a hand rake, one grain, 
one foot apart each way. All came up well, 
but something killed about one-fourth of 
them. They wintered well and were cut 
July 8—10 days after Fultz. There was 
little difference in ripening. Willits dis¬ 
appointed me. It was the first to head out. 
The heads were of good length and very 
thick; but they did not fill. The straw of 
Johnson, Beal and Willits was large and 
stiff and all stood up; Bailey and Stewart 
fairly well, but Roberts lodged badly. It 
was six or eight inches taller than the 
others. Willits was the shortest; about 
one-third of Stewart turned out to be a 
smooth, red-chaff wheat. I have thrashed 
out Johnson and got nearly six pounds of 
wheat. I would class them as follows : 1. 
Johnson; 2. Beal; 3. Bailey; 4. Willits; 5. 
Roberts and Stewart. If Willits had filled, 
it would have easily stood at the head. I 
counted 42 heads from one grain and many 
had over 30. I used no manure, as I thought 
the ground rich enough.” GEO. R. PRICE. 
Proctor, W. Va. 
“ I have just got the Rural wheats 
cleaned and weighed, and following is the 
number of pounds of the different varieties: 
Bailey. 7% pounds. 
Willits. b% “ 
Johnson. 6>6 “ 
Aeal . 6)4 “ 
k Stewart. 5)4 “ 
Roberts. 5 “ 
I think they are valuable varieties of wheat 
for this part of the country. The wire- 
worms took about one-quarter of some 
rows. All ripened about the same time.” 
. Welland Co., Ont. michael bowen. 
\ \\ “ I sowed the Rural New-Yorker wheats 
' on September 16, 1890, on ground from 
\A\ which a crop of beans had been harvested. 
Uv Y The contents of each package were sowed 
\ ' in a drill 26 yards long. All were ripe July 
20—one week later than the native wheat. 
They yielded the magnificent return of 57 
pounds. Willits heads the list with 16 
pounds to its credit; next come Beal and 
Johnson with 10 pounds each ; Bailey comes 
next with nine pounds; Roberts with eight 
and Stewart with only four pounds. It is 
v only fair to state that half the paekage of 
Stewart wheat proved to be Willits, which 
accounts for the small yield. The wire- 
worms destroyed some in the fall and some 
was winter-killed, the loss being enough to reduce the 
Beal.— The prize heads averaged 5% inches in length, 
13 breasts to a side, counting the double breasts as one 
each. There was an average of six kernels to a breast (or 
spikelet) making in all 156 kernels to the head. This 
variety is heavily bearded. It is a pure wheat cross from 
Armstrong originally, but how far removed by subsequent 
crossings we cannot say. The chaff is white, the berry 
amber-colored. It is medium to mature. 
Stewart Is also a pure wheat cross, the result of many 
years of crossing and selection. The heads average longer 
than any of the others, though the breasts are hot so close 
together, five grains to each—eleven to a side, or 110 grains 
to the head. Chaff brown, heavily bearded. Stem tall 
and strong. 
Johnson prize heads average 14 breasts to a side and six 
kernels to a breast, making 168 kernels to the head. It is 
a pure wheat cross, medium to ripen. Chaff white, heavily 
bearded. Grain of fair size, bright amber color, hard. 
color. 
Extracts from Correspondents’ Letters. 
“I send The Rural three heads of each kind of the 
Rural New-Yorker wheats to contest for the prizes. The 
wheats were sown on December 15, 1890, on gravelly clay 
soil without manure. The land has been farmed for 30 
years in various crops—corn, potatoes and vegetables—and 
has given a medium stand. Birds took some of the crop; 
the varieties grew about three feet high, with very stiff 
straw, and stooled wonderfully. Some stools bore 30 and 
as high as 50 heads each. I have been a farmer from my 
boyhood, and am 70 years old, and I never saw as fine- 
looking grain, and the crop was admired by all who saw 
it. I cut Stewart July 23; Willits, July 24, and the rest 
August 6, 1891. I cut them when all were a little green 
because the birds were working on them very badly, and 
if I could have allowed them to stand a few days longer 
the kernels would have been plumper and heavier. I have 
yield fully one-tenth of what it otherwise would have 
been. The straw was very stout, about 3% feet high and 
free from rust. I think Willits, Beal and Johnson will 
prove very valuable here.” RICHARD haskett. 
Parkhill, Canada. 
“The total number of seeds received of the six different 
varieties of the Rural wheats was 1,102. They were 
planted as per directions. The moles destroyed about one- 
third of the seeds after they had been planted. The aver¬ 
age yield of the six different kinds was six pounds 8% 
ounces—total weight, 39 pounds 3 3-16 ounces. The John¬ 
son and Willits are the favorites of Mr. W. M. Endy, one 
of our best and most progressive farmers. He is satisfied 
that the yield would have been much better, had it not 
been for the very rainy weather when in full bloom.” 
Mount Pleasant, N. C. jonas COOK. 
“ The Rural wheats came on September 23, 1890, and 
were planted nexf day, one foot apart each way, three or 
