Jan. io, 1914 
Environmental Influences on Wheat 
291 
on the same soils transported to Maryland. In view of the further fact, 
generally accepted by agriculturists, that the same variety of wheat 
grown over certain large areas having similar climatic conditions pos¬ 
sesses approximately the same physical and chemical characteristics, 
notwithstanding the inherent differences in soil on which they were 
grown or the differences of fertilizers applied to these soils, it would 
seem that climate plays a greater role than soils as such in influencing 
the composition of wheat. 
Of the biological factors, those bearing on nitrification might be the 
most influential in affecting the protein content of the crop. Yet it is 
a noteworthy fact that the application of nitrate as a fertilizer increases 
the protein content of the crop to only a slight degree. Considering the 
great difference existing between the protein of the Maryland and Kan¬ 
sas crops, it may therefore be concluded that even if nitrification were 
greater in Maryland soil transferred to Kansas than in Maryland soil in 
Maryland, that fact would not be sufficient to explain the wide variation 
between the composition of the wheat grown on the four plats in Mary¬ 
land and on the four plats in Kansas. 
It is also shown that the crops from the plats which had been taken 
up in 3-inch layers and replaced had approximately the same physical 
and chemical characteristics throughout as the crops from the corre¬ 
sponding plats which had not been thus disturbed. On the other hand, 
it is shown that the climatic factors collectively have a strong determin¬ 
ing influence, especially upon the crude-protein content, the ash content, 
and the percentage of phosphoric acid in the ash. The results from 
this experiment thus harmonize with the findings previously published 1 — 
namely, that environment rather than what has been usually termed 
heredity is the major factor in determining the physical and chemical 
characteristics of the wheat crop. They indicate, further, that it is the 
climatic environment which exercises the primary influence of the envi¬ 
ronmental factors. 
i7°73 — ;r 4- 2 
1 I^e Clerc and I^eavitt. Op. tit. 
