The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1908-10-23
ALASKA WHEAT.
Idaho Experiment Station Man Writes
Concerning Il.


find it necessary to issue this press
bulletin concerning the so-called
Alaska" wheat.
This wheat, when given ample field
space or conditions favorable to the
individual plant, has branching head
borne on a rather tough straw at
height OF between four and five feet.
| The mesh bears two and three kerr
nels. When grown under close field
conditions the head tends to be much
smaller, branches less, and the mesh
bears from one to two kernels, very
seldom three. If heads grown under
these conditions alone were examined
the impression would be obtained that
this wheat never bears but two kerr
f,neis to the mesh, mistake which
some writer's appear to have made
The boards, while not numerous,
are dark in color and considerably
stronger than we find on our common
wheats, but not SO long or stiff as
those found on the durums or maca-
roni wheats. The normal kernel is
light in color, short and plump, with
an unusually open groove, which al
lows the kernel to be easily broken
in threshing. A cross-section shows
the interior to be white and powdery,
with comparatively little horny starch
The shrunken kernels naturally are
harder.
Taking everything into considera
ton, | am led to conclude that this
is the Egyptian or Miracle wheat, a,
Poulard, and that it belongs to that
variety of the Egyptian known as
Eldorado, which is very closely re-
lated to the seven-headed variety,
The Poulards are peculiarly adapted
to dry regions, but never have been
grown to any extent in America,
Their yields have never proved to be
of such a nature as to warrant their
extensive growth, even for stock food.
And the inferiority of the flour pro-
duced from them has prevented their
use to any extent for the production
of bread.
The high yields claimed for the
wheat in this section Of the country
in some cases 277 bushels per acre,
are fabulous. One Of the promoters
states that from one head of the
wheat he obtained seven pounds;
from these seven pounds he produced
1545 pounds, or yield in round num-
bers of 22O fold 1t is from these
figures that the yields noted in the
various papers, and in the circular OF
the Adams-Hobe Seed Grain COM
pany, of Juliaetta, Idaho, are COM
puted. To show the Righteousness Of
a computing yields in this way, we de-
termined in a couple of cases, the
number of grains produced from one
seed of Little Club grown under fa-
vorable conditions in our breeding
plat One plant produced 1176; the
other 1900 kernels. Now, reasoning
= as this seed company has done, if We
: should plant one bushel of this Little
Club to the acre, we would obtair
:, 1176 or 1900 bushels. This would bt
: rather high yield, even for Idaho
!. This year the company had 70t
10 acres in the wheat grown on differen
farms in this locality. A thirty
tract near Moscow, which was
threshed in the middle of August
went about thirty-two bushels pei
acre. Mr. Adams stated at that time
d that his best yields had been thirty
five bushels. He supplemented this
" remark, however, with the statement
that his stands were poor in every
s. case. But considering the large acre
age, the fact that several different
farmers grew the CROP and the effect
of close stand, noted above, we must
take this as an indication, at least, o1
the yielding power of the wheat. This
however, would not be considered ar
extra large yield for this country.
The analysis of the wheat upor
Il which the company appears to base
:, its hopes amounts to practically moth
. ing III determining the bread-makine
= quality of the flour 1t is true, thai
. bluestem wheat, which analyses higher
y in protein than Little Club, makes Z
o better quality Of flour, but it is also
true that macaroni wheat, which an
Ia alyzes higher in protein than Blue
! stem, makes lower class of flour
- and consequently is Discriminate
% against by the miller The low-grad,
n flours turned out from our mills usu
y ally show higher protein conten
st than the patent Corn has consider
'e able protein, but the chemist seems
4 unable to find any gluten (that all es
\ sential part Of good four). Ever
: if the chemist had found high CLUTTER
|" content in Alaska wheat, we woulc
y still not be justified in concluding
= that the wheat would make a goot
r quality of flour. The proof of tn
10 wheat is in the bread it will make.
,s promised to have milling test mad
q Upon our request the company ha
soon. Until this test is made, how
:. ever, we must assume that the whea
- :. will make no better flour under tn
: name of ALASKA" than it did whei
u known as wheat of Miracle"
In spite of all the beautiful storie
o, which have been written concerning
e. the origin OF this wheat, regardless o
n the many wonderful things whic
q have been imagined about its quality
= and taking into consideration the i'm
- preston as to yield, which has s.
skillfully been thrown broadcas
u throughout the American continent b
10 this seed company, who advertise thei
ut wheat for sale at $50 per bushel, W
er have yet to find any point of meri
In it which would warrant the publ
paying more for Alaska" wheat tha