The Kennewick courier. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1905-1914, 1908-10-02
THE HYBRID WHEAT
PropAeated by Agricultural Col
IeSe at Pullman
Has Proven
A VERY GOOD YIELDER
The Variety Is Good With Strong
Straw and Will Add Greatly to
the Yield as Results Show.


Through your valuable paper wish
to call the attention of my farmer
friends to the merits of the new hy'
brid wheats propagated by our state
experiment station at Pullman
When was Il student at the State
College. some 10 oral2 years ago,
Prof w. j. Spill nan. clen head Of
the department of agriculture. saw
the necessity of introducing into east.
ern Washington varieties of wheat
that are better adapted to agricul-
tural conditions and methods of har-
vesting than the ordinary standard
varieties, that were grown at thai
time. After failing to get what he
wanted by testing varieties. he turn
ed his attention to hybridization, or
crossing the standard varieties. He
wanted a true winter wheat tina t
would stand the winters. He furth-
er, wanted variety with II stiff
straw and head that would not
shatter. By making the proper selec-
tions for his crosses he took parent
plants of varieties both Of which
combined possessed all of these char
acteristics. 1t was hoped that 10y
making these crosses the liability to
yield well would lie increased. Aft
er getting the work we'll started Prof
Spillman left the college and went in
to the u. S. department. Of agricul-
ture. Since his departure from the
state the wheat breeding work has
been carried on under the direction
OF Prof. T.. L. Elliot. During the
last four years Prof. Claud Lawrence
has looked after every detail of the
work on the part of the station to
propagate, perfect and test these
new wheats. The station staff now
has a right to assert that it knows
the value of wheat it is distributing
to the farmers.
The new varieties to which wish
to call special attention are the fol-
lowing:
Hybrid No. 1873, a cross between
Winter Fife and Little Club.
Hybrid No. 1913, cross between
Winter Fife and Little club.
Hybrid No. 143. cross between
White Track and Little Club,
Hybrid No. 63, a cross between
Turkey Red and Little Club.
All OF these new wheats have the
Little Club shaped head and do not
shatter easily. They are all true WIN
Ter wheats and are said to be as
hardy as Red Russian. They all have
stiff straw with the exception of No.
63, It's straw being intermediate be-
tween that of Little Club and Turkey
Red, the parent varieties. No. 12S
has white kernel berry. and grades
as club wheat while that of No. 123
is similar in color to Winter Fife.
These wheats have been grown by
the farmers for two years and it is
upon the reports of the farmers that
we base our opinion as to their
worth. am just in receipt of u let
ter from Mr.. II. II. Curtis, Of Pull
man. Wash., that shows the COM
parative yield Of No. 12S and some OF
the standard wheats grown in his
neighberhOod. Mr.. Curtis writes as
follows:
Answering your letter regarding
the yield Of No. 12S Hybrid (JOnes
Fife and Little Club crOss) wheat
will say that certainly consider it a
superior wheat to the old standard
varieties. My Hybrid No. l2S on the
Thompson place, II acres, made 43
bushels per acre, while my Red Rus
sian on my home place made 81 BUSH
els. The ground on my home place
was i'm better condition than that on
the Thompson place.
Geo. Miller, east of Albion, Wash,
sowed last fall Forty-fold Red Rus
sian and So acres of No 12S. The
Red Russian made y bushels. the
FOrty-fold 30 bushels, and No. l2S, &c
bushels per acre under the same con
ditions. Mr.. Peterson, six miles
northwest of Pullman. sOwed Forty
fold and No. 12S. The FOrty-fol,
made 40 bushcl. and No 12S, so bush
ell per acre.
Regarding smut. will say that
have very little smut this year. If il
is thoroughly treated the smut will
not bother. My wheat is No. ant
tested 60 and 81 pounds. 1t sells OF
the market the same as club bu
mills that have made a test of i
claim that it is II little better thar
club, but not as good as bluestem.
''Since receiving your letter wi
saw that | haze consulted Prof Spv