A Study of Colorado Whrat 
III 
In planning this work, I of course, proceeded on certain assump¬ 
tions. I firmly believed, and still believe, that the development of un¬ 
usual amounts of nitrates in our soils in the Arkansas Valley accounted 
for the deterioration in the quality of the sugar beets between the years 
of 1898 and 1910. I succeeded in showing that the application of ni¬ 
trates produced those properties in the sugar beets that constituted 
the points of inferiority in the deteriorated beets—late ripening, char¬ 
acteristically shaped beets, low sugar content, and juices that produced 
much molasses and which crystallized with difficulty. 
There is no reason for concealment of the fact that I thought it 
probable that this characteristic of our soil might be in part or wholly 
responsible for the weakness complained of in our wheat. Any col¬ 
lection of samples of Colorado wheats, taken at random, will make it 
perfectly evident that some other factor than climate or irrigation is 
at work in determining the character of the wheat, for samples of the 
same variety from the same locality vary exceedingly in the color, size, 
shape and hardness of the kernels, and further, in their protein content. 
It is very common to characterize wheat kernels according to their 
appearance as flinty and mealy. This mealiness is designated in many 
of our states as yellow-berry- I cannot state that the general com¬ 
plaint of softening referred specifically to the yellow-berry kernels, 
but rather to a general fact that our flour does not yield enough bread. 
Nevertheless, I am sure that some millers regard the two terms as 
indicating the same condition. At the present time I do not intend to 
present the milling and baking qualities of these wheats, as these con¬ 
stitute distinct problems, though incidental reference to some features 
of them may be almost unavoidable. 
Mealy Kernels Result If Available Nitrogen Is Too Low 
There is no question but that this difference in the appearance of 
the kernels of the same variety corresponds to a difference in compo¬ 
sition, a fact recognized, so far as I know, everywhere at the present 
time. Schindler in “Der Getreidebau” (1909) p. 151, cites P. Holde- 
fleiss as showing in 1900 that such kernels differ by 2.44 percent in 
protein. We have discussed this condition in regard to its cause in 
Bulletin 205 and from the physical results alone came the conclusion 
that this condition in the kernel was to be attributed to the ratio between 
the available nitrogen and available potassium. If the available nit¬ 
rogen is too low, mealy berries are produced. In previous pages of this 
bulletin I have discussed the view put forward by some that this con¬ 
dition is due to the amount of water applied as irrigation, and have 
given my reasons for rejecting it* 
There is one statement in that discussion, however, that deserves 
further consideration. It is the statement asserting the manner in 
