SSS 
nn 
WHEAT. 
sown very thick and the plants pulled when in 
flower, or before the grain is formed, when they 
are generally about eighteen inches in height. It 
is then bleached and tied up in the same manner 
as we do flax, previous to selecting the portion 
| of the stalk to be used in the manufacture, which 
| is that between the ear and the first knot or joint 
|| of the straw.” 
The white beardless Tuscany wheat was pick- 
ed out about 20 years ago from a field of Leg- 
| horn wheat by Mr. A. Gorrie, and has been culti- 
| vated as a spring-sown grain wheat. 
Its ear is 
long; its spikelets are not very closely set; and 
its grains are light-coloured, clear, transparent, 
| and thin-skinned, and weigh at the rate of about 
| 63 lbs. per bushel. 
| tive. 
This wheat is very produc- 
The common white beardless spring wheat is 
cultivated as a spring wheat in the central dis- 
tricts of France to as great an extent as any of 
the winter sorts; but, as introduced or imported 
into Britain, it generally is much mixed with the 
common white bearded spring wheat of France. 
Its ear is long, small, and tapering; its spike- 
lets are remote; and its grain is short, plump, 
and of a dull yellow or brownish colour. 
The Fellemberg white spring wheat, or white 
spring wheat of Fellemberg, is also a French 
spring wheat, and seems to be a very vigorous 
grower; but, in consequence of its seeds being 
small and very hard and exceedingly liable to 
be shaken out when ripe, it is not much cultivat- 
ed. Its ear is very white; its spikelets are broad- 
er and more closely placed than those of the com- 
mon white beardless spring wheat ; and its grains 
are small, slightly elongated, of a clear trans- 
parent reddish colour, and very hard or flinty. 
The hard spring wheat is likewise a French 
spring sort; and is regarded by the French as 
merely a subvariety of the Fellemberg wheat; 
and was originally obtained by them from the 
same district as that wheat. But its chaff is 
stronger, and its grains are less flinty and not so 
liable to be shaken out. Even this wheat, how- 
ever, is not much cultivated. 
The red beardless Tuscany wheat ripens almost 
as early when sown in March as if sown in Au- 
tumn, Its ear is large, rather compact, and of a 
darkish red or brown colour, and bends to one 
side, and presents a considerable resemblance to 
that of the blood-red wheat; and its grains are 
larger, more pointed, and of a more uniform yel- 
lowish brown colour than those of that variety. 
If sown at the same time as the blood-red wheat, 
it ripens 8 or 10 days earlier. 
The common red beardless wheat of France is 
rather a poor variety, and has not been much 
cultivated by the French. It was originally in- 
troduced to France from the north of Germany. 
Its ear has a pale red colour; its spikelets are 
closely set; and its grain is reddish, of medium 
size, and rather hard or flinty. 
The common winter bearded wheat is a com- 
671 
paratively worthless variety, and has gone almost 
entirely out of cultivation, but may be frequent- 
ly seen mixed in small quantities with common 
white winter wheat. Its ear is thin, short, and 
tapering to the point; its awns are considerably 
longer than the ear; and its grains are small, 
elongated, of a light reddish colour, and rather 
hard or flinty. 
The white bearded Shanry wheat was picked 
out of a field on the farm of Shanry by Mr. A. 
Gorrie, and is a very superior variety of bearded 
winter wheat. Its ear is longer and more com- 
pact than that of the common winter beard- 
ed wheat; its awns are much shorter; and its 
grains are larger, softer, and of a light yellow- 
ish colour. 
The light yellow bearded winter wheat is hardy | 
and productive, and was at one time very much 
cultivated in France; and though now exten- 
sively superseded by the white beardless varie- 
ties, it is still a good deal cultivated in several 
large districts, and is much esteemed by both 
millers and bakers. Its ear is compressed; its 
awns are long and spreading; and its grains are 
medium-sized and of a reddish yellow colour. 
The woolly-eared white bearded wheat was 
picked up by Mr. A. Gorrie along with the Shanry 
wheat; and it differs from that variety simply by 
having its ears covered with fine wool or down. 
“There are doubtless,” remarks Mr. Lawson, 
“many sub-varieties of this as well as of the 
other downy or woolly wheats, possessing various 
degrees of merit; but as cultivators seem to have 
a prejudice against woolly wheats in general, the 
varieties are hitherto little known.” 
The white bearded Tuscany wheat was origi- 
nally selected by Mr. A. Gorrie from a quantity 
of Leghorn wheat, and has been cultivated asa 
spring-sowing grain wheat, and yields a sample 
of very superior quality. Its ear differs little 
from that of the white bearded Shanry wheat, 
except in having rather longer awns; and its 
grain is longer, plumper, and of a very light co- 
lour,—and comes sooner to maturity, and is bet- 
ter adapted for spring sowing.. 
The Chinese bearded spring wheat was intro- 
duced to Britain from Germany by the late Mr. 
Loudon, and reintroduced from Russia by Mr. 
Lawson; and it showed, at its introduction, an 
extraordinary and almost destructive liability to 
rust. Its ear is nearly similar to that of the 
white’ bearded Tuscany wheat; and its grain is 
white, slightly transparent, a little elongated, 
and well filled, and forms an excellent sample. 
The common bearded spring wheat of the 
French was at one time the most extensively 
cultivated spring wheat in France; and it com- 
prises one variety with whitish grains and an- 
other with reddish grains. Its ear is small and 
more pyramidal than that of the light yellow 
bearded winter wheat; and its grain is shorter, 
and, in the case of the whitish subvariety, a shade 
lighter in colour. 
