Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1909-08-07
Alaska Wheat. What Its Dis
COvefef Says About II.
Messrs. Editors :

Messrs. Editors /:
In a former letter referred to folder
sent me by Mr.. Adams, the discoverer
of Alaska wheat, after l had purchased
two bushels from him. In this he tells
fully the history Of his find and much
of interest connected with it. / con-
dense its striking features as depicted
by him: Alaska wheat is the result OF
bright idea on the part of Abraham
Adams, an Idaho farmer, who realized
the possibility Of double wheat crop
If it could be perfected. After several
years he perfected head of wheat with
a single central head around which were
nine other shorter heads. If this head
would repeat in the planting it meant q
crop of six to ten times greater than
ordinary wheat. The double head was
planted in the fall of 1904, and the next
summer seven pounds resulted and every
head was double. The seven pounds
planted in the spring of 1906 brought
forth 1916 pounds, 222a times the plant
made. That was planted the fall Of
the same year, but hail storms destroyed
all fields of club and blue stem, yet So,
900 pounds of Alaska were secured. The
fields of other wheat were not worth cut
ting. Adams had shown that his new
wheat was equally valuable as winter or
spring wheat. He had enormous crowns,
but he wanted to ascertain the quality.
He took a sample to the Experimental
Station at Moscow, Idaho, and after a
test the report came that his wheat
would make better flour than blue stem
and would grade No. hard. In190S he
leased all the fields in the neighborhood
for the season. He sowed his wheat
partly in the fall of 1907 and the rest in
the next spring. It was cold. bad
spring and cut worms were a fright.
Later there came a hard hail storm
which beat down ordinary wheat. but
good judges put his crop at an average
of ll5 bushels to the acre. He says
these are just few hard, cold facts,
not colored in the least. With regard
to the yield of Alaska he claims 100
bushels to the acre is but small yield.
1t has reached from hundred bushels
to 222a bushels to the acre on large
tracts, and even now, he says, in
favored places.
Like all wheat, much will depend on
the soil. This is his claim and the
history of the wheat.
| greatly regret that fair test of
this wheat could not be made by me here
under the most favorable circumstances.
On the contrary, this has been the worst
wheat year known in these parts for
many years, as every wheat grower is
painfully aware. The disastrous blight
struck my little field with great sever
ity, so that like all other wheat it fell
far short of what it should have made.
The two bushels yielded "a bushels thresh
er measure, which cleaned up about the
same quantity struck measure suitable
for seed. When we know that by actual
count by disinterested parties there were
as many as 1l3 grains in many heads of
this wheat, that many heads had nine
branches, it is a mere matter of arith-
metic to determine how much more it
would have produced than ordinary
wheat. which latter produces a maxi
mum of about 80 grains to the head.
The consensus Of opinion among those
who watched my field of wheat is
but for the washing out of the blossoms
by the wind and rain storms the yield
would have reached hundred bushels
if not more. The loss by English spar
rows was considerable. The strong
stalks of this wheat, and these little
pests soon learned that it would bear
their weight, invited them to perch upon
the heads before they were fully ripe, and
they thus early began their attacks upon
them, and after it was shocked they
swooped down upon it in immense fiocks
and made it their feeding ground.
shall of course seed part Of this yield
again this fall. reserving part for
those who are anxious to try it.
GEORGE w. CONVICTION.
Elmer E. Knepshield from Sidney H.