The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-08-22
MARQUIS, King OF
HARO WHEATS
IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTION TO
CEREAL WORLD, NEW VARIETY
-, CROSS BETWEEN RED FIFE AND
d, HARD RED CALCUTTA BRED BY
DIR. SAUNDERS.

e., EoE1 I1dlly SSdIS LHC SAASL - "a N'O
most eminent cerealists of Canada
have been directed to the production
or introduction of a wheat that would
combine earliness with the productive
ness and milling. and baking qualities
Gof red fife.
In the effort to find a wheat Of quail
ity and pr~oductiVeness h a will ripen
| ahead of the frost, many varieties
have been imported from the great
wheat growing countries of the world.
Not one has yet been introduced that
combines in itself the quality n pro-
ductiveness Of red fife and earliness.
To DR.. Saunders Of the dominion eX-
perimental farms belongs the credit
for the production, by cross breeding
and selection. of a wheat that does
combine in itself the advantages that
have been so earnestly sought after
by cerealists and SO deVoutly hoped
for by the farmers Of Manitoba. Sas-
katchewan and Alberta.
In this life it seldom falls to the lot
of man, working towards IN ideal. to
see his efforts crowned with such un-
qualified success at attained by DR..
Charles Saunders. the originator of
marquis wheat. Canada is awakening
to the fact that an achievement in
cereal breeding has been effected by
one of her own sons. of stupendous
Importance to her agricultural inter-
ests. The west owes a debt to this
man-it cannot be figured. Recogni-
ton. in a measure. must come. Till
then we would say. "Well done"
MARQUIS wheat is q cross between
red fife and an early hard red wheat
from India, called hard red Calcutta.
The product Of a single cross-bred
| grain was grown for several years at
the Central experiment farm. Ottawa.
and selections we're made from time to
time. In 1903 the final selection was
made, and the name Of marquis given
to the product Of a single plant. From
that time DR.. Saunders continued his
work of developing and selecting, and
after several succeeding years. with
the type firmly fixed, the variety was
distributed in small parcels to a few
leading growers throughout western
Canada. MARQUIS is a bald wheat.
Compared with red fife, the growing
crop Of marquis cannot be distinguish
ed from fife except being stiff n
straight, of medium length. not so
liable to lodge as red fife, although the
heads Of marquis are proportionately
heavier than fife. The kernel is dis
tinctly different. being thicker and
more nearly round. and usually of a
darker color than red fife. A well
developed and well saved sample Is
indeed very attractive.
Earliness-Repeated tests by he
government farms, as well as private
owners, prove marquis to be from z
week to ten days earlier than red fife.
observation-disclosures has given
many phenomenal yields, and 1t is set
tied beyond doubt that it a be de-
pended upon to yield from five to ten
bushels more per acre than red fife
under similar conditions.
Quality-It has been subjected to
the most critical milling tests and re-
peatedly shown that 1t inherits the
unexcelled quality Of the parent red
fife.
At the New York Land show, in the
fall of 1911, it was Marquis that won
the $1,000 prize owe all varieties Of
the continents of North and South
America. Again, in 1912. at the Dry
Farming congress at L~ethhridge. Can
ada, Marquis won the champion prize
of a $4,000 land engine-competition
open to the world.
Seager Wheeler, the winner Of the
| 81, 900 prize at the New York Land
show, has given special attention to
wheat growing. He is a farmer, and
devotes his time entirely to farming.
He has carefully tested every leading
variety, with the view of finding out
the best. He wrote US, under date
Nov. 8, 1911, as follows: "In my hum
Die opinion, DdSeu On INC experiences
of some years in the work of hand Sc
lection, Marquis wheat has more good
points in it's favor than any other
variety grown in the west. The beau
tiful shape Of the berry; it's good red
color; it's earliness; freedom from
rust; fine straw, but stiff: a tendency
to hold the chaff, which prevents waste
in handling; also less liable to dam
age from frost. on account of the stiff
chaff which closes tightly over the
grain; it's high yielding qualities-on
a plot Of one-nineteenth Of an acre it
gave a yield on my own farm this
season of 80 2-3 bushels per acre, an
other plot 70 SIS bushels, and another
As bushels. OF course. 1 do not expect
to duplicate these high yields on a
larger area. The wheat that won the
$1,000 prize at New York vas not
grown on any specially-prepared plot;
the land had no advantage over that
on which other varieties were grown.
1t was grown on summer fallow, well
prepared, plowed early, n cultivated
| throughout the season, ready for the
| seeder in the spring"
While earliness was a prime factor
aimed at in the breeding of Marquis,
it was also the purpose to maintain
the productiveness and high quality Of
the RED Fife. The breeder built
wiser than he planned. for with every
| passing SedSOH the ITulH Is SLTlklnS
home with greater force to the wheat
growers of Canada that, not only in
earliness. but in an equal If not a
greater degree, the productiveness and
strong constitution of Marquis are
outstanding features, far SURPRISING
it's parent Red Fife in these ~respects.
With it's strong constitution to combat
| disease. such as rust n smut, and
straw not inclined to lodge. coupled
with it's earliness, the grower of this
variety is insured against many of the
losses that frequently attend the grow
ing Of wheat.
The spring of 1911 say the first Mar
quis wheat sold for seed. the price
being from 81 to S. per bushel. All
told, about 1000 bushels were avail
larger quantity was available, but not
sufficient to supply one-tenth OF the
demand, at a price ranging from $3.50
to "a per .bushel. The spring of 1913
will see an enormous demand, as the
vast superiority of Marquis over all
other varieties is proven yer and over
again with each passing season. There
is not a doubt but that orders for seed
wheat for western Canada In 1918 will
show a proportion of at least So per
cent for Marquis of the total of all
varieties combined. Marquis has pass
ed all experimental stages n stands
today as the ideal wheat of western
Canada.
1EABLY MATUREO CORN
ceived from the Barnes farm at Glyn-
i don to the effect that there is a field of