Yellow-berry in Wheat 
i3 
has not deteriorated. • The author further strengthens his position 
by discussing new and virgin lands, still to be found in their wheat¬ 
growing sections, but I will quote his own words. 
“New and virgin lands remaining in the wheat belt unplowed, even 
though they represent select areas of land, when plowed and sowed to 
wheat, under present conditions, cannot now as in early days be relied 
upon to produce the quality of wheat then produced on immediately ad¬ 
jacent lands. As often as otherwise the crop is apt to produce light 
weight, off-colored, ‘spotted,’ ‘white-bellied,’ ‘black-pointed,’ ‘pie-bald,’ 
shrivelled grain upon a rag-like, light weight straw. Because of these 
facts, many of our most able, old-time wheat growers have been inclined 
to contend that there must have occurred changes in climatic conditions. 
No one can have the hardihood to contend that these native lands, never 
before plowed, have only sufficient fertility to maintain the normal yield 
and quality of grain for but one or two years. These lands certainly are 
as fertile as the adjacent areas which were broken in the early days of 
wheat culture. It can be seen at a glance that these present new lands 
are now subject to wheat diseases coming through poor seed and by dust 
and dirt from the adjacent old worked wheat lands.’’ 
The cause of deterioration, as the author sees it, is here dis¬ 
tinctly attributed to diseases coming through poor seed and by dust 
and dirt from the adjacent, old-worked, infected wheat lands. The 
deterioration consists in the kernels being of light weight, off-colored 
“black-pointed,” “spotted,” “pie-bald,” “white-bellied,” and shriv¬ 
elled. This is on new or virgin land after one or two years. At 
least I so understand it, for he says that: 
“No one can have the hardihood to contend that these native lands, 
never before plowed, have only sufficient fertility to maintain the normal 
yield and quality of grain for but one or two years.” 
In summarizing the symptoms on a subsequent page, he is quite 
as explicit and his statements are more general. He says: 
“All complain of much straw and light grain, yet find, when the 
yield is reasonably high in bushels, the grade is off whether it is well 
harvested or not. This does not, as one might suspect, indicate lack of 
nitrates in soil, but rather the contrary; for this immature shrivelled 
grain is apt to have a comparatively high proteid content, its deficiency 
being chiefly the starch products. Grains are often found to be off-color, 
‘pie-bald,’ ‘blighted,’ ‘black-pointed,’ also showing pink, brown, and other 
colorations of the berries even though there has been no moisture at har¬ 
vest time. These peculiar, shrivelled and discolored grains we find to 
be internally attacked by fungi. The color is either due to the presence 
of the fungi or to changes caused by them.” 
Later the author explains the cause of young plants dying, 
ascribing this cause to genera of Fusarium and Colletotrichum. In 
so doing, he says: 
