Gunnison news-champion., 1916-06-16
uIIE Of nnQBs WHEAT
The New Sptins Variety

Washington. d. c.. June 7.-Aarquis
wheat has aroused much interest In the
United States recently. about Z. .000. 900
bushels being harvested in 1914. This
has produced IN abundance Of Sod and
many farmess have been considering the
advisablity Of growing this variety in
the future. For this reason the results
OF the government test Of this wheat,
published in Fsrmers' Bulletin 7S2, will
be Of special interest.
Marquis wheat. says the bulletin. is .
hybrid produced on the Central Expert
ment Farm At Ottawa, Canada. tits an
early VARIETY. ripening from SO to 1876
days after sowing. the average length
Of the growing period in the northern
Great Plains being about lis days. This
makes II three or four days earlier than
most Of the Fife varieties. the group
with which it 10 classed. Because Of
this earliness. Marquis wheat escapes to
some extent the drought Of dry years.
and rust and fall rains Of wet seasons,
and the early fall frosts. These char
scteristics have made It especially val
uable in the Prairie Provinces of Cana
da. In the United States they have not
proved to be SO great an advantage.
In the northern Prairie States, includ-
ing Iowa, Minnesota, and the subhumid
parts Of eastern Nebraska and the two
Dakotas, the government Investigators
found that Marquis wheat slightly out
yields the groups of spring wheat COM
monty grown in the section. Where
winter wheat can be grown. however, it
outyields any spring wheat, Marquis in
cluded. The bulletin recommends eau
ton in discarding well.known varieties,
and advises the farmer who wishes to
try Marquis to compare 1t carefully with
the other spring whests and to hold fast
to that which proves best.
In the semi-arid section covering most
of the northern half of the Great Plains
area and including most of Nebraska,
the Dakotas. northeastern Colorado
eastern Wyoming. and the eastern half
Of Montana, the durum wheats have
been found to outyield all the spring
common varieties. including Marquis.
Here again. however, winter wheat is
decidedly better than any spring wheat
The Marquis is not recommended, there
fore, wherever winter wheat can be
grown or wherever durum wheat is used.
Elsewhere it is safe variety to grow
and is especially well adapted to central
South Dakota. where drought and rust
often reduce the yield Of later maturing
varieties.
Marquis wheat ID not recommended
for any district west Of the Rocky Noun
!tains. In the wheat districts Of Utah.
ldaho,N Oregon. and Washington, the
hard red winter wheats Of the Crimean
group are now widely grown and out
yield any variety Of spring wheat. In
most places, moreover, good varieties
Of spring wheat outyield the Marquis.
Marquis wheat has not been grown to
any extent urder irrigation, but in west
ern South Dakota, and in Montana, has
given good results under these condi.
tions, according to the limited informa-
tion available. It should not be grown
under irrigation west Of the Rocky
Mountain, where there 10 good demand
for the soft white whests, all Of which
outyield it.
In appearance Marquis wheat closely
resembles the Fife wheats of the north
ern Great Plains states. 1t is . beard
less spring variety with hairless white
chaR or glumes and hard red kernel.
For flour making it is regarded - first
class. Numerous milling tests show
that in this respect it is equal or slightly
superior to the Fife and Bluestem
wheats which are the standard hard red
spring wheats for -four making.