The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1916-07-08
MIRACULOUS WHEATS
Persistent Attempts to FOist OFF Old
Varieties Under Many Names And
At Fancy Prices.

anyone who plants it seems to be al
most as old as agriculture itself. In
this country at least, such an assertion
was made for the so-called Jerusalem
wheat as early as 1907. and, under the
name of Alaska wheat. this identical
variety is still being pushed upon the
unwary at eXorbitant prices for seed.
Almost equally exaggerated claims
are made for the Stoner variety, but
this particular wheat has not such a
long history.
Because of the many attempts that
have been made by promoters to foist
these wheats, under one name or an
other, upon the farmers of the coun-
try, the department has made careful
tests of their value. In Bulletin 357
of the department the results of these
tests are said to show conclusively
that neither of the wheats possesses
any peculiar quality which justifies
high prices for the seed Many varie-
ties grown commercially throughout
the country have, in fact, proved to be
somewhat superior to either the Alas
ka or the Stoner.
The history of Alaska wheat goes
back in this country to the beginning
of the last century. In all probability
it was introduced before the Revolu-
ton, but the first definite mention of
it is in a letter dated 1907, in which
certain DR.. Keemle speaks of the great
productiveness of the Jerusalem wheat
small quantity of which he had
brought over from Ireland DR.. Keem-
les description of his wheat identifies
it, in the opinion of experts, with the
Alaska wheat of today. The chief
characteristic of this variety is that
there are as many as seven or eight
branches on each head. This provides
the promoters with their great argu-
ment-the more branches. they say,
the bigger the yields, and they have
found many people who believe them
AS a matter of fact, the so-called
Alaska wheat belongs to the Poulard
subspecies Poulard wheats are grown
to some extent in the Mediteri anean
region of Europe, but not to any COM
mercial extent in this country. The
tests of the whea, made by the de-
partment in a number of places and
under number of different condi-
tons have never resulted in eXtraor-
binary yields. and in many instances
not even fair yields have been obtain
ed. Milling tests have shown also
that in this respect Alaska wheat is
not as good as many other widely
grown varieties.
These facts, however, have not pre-
vented the promoters at Iarious times
from asserting that yields of from 100
to 222 l-2 bushels per acre can be oh
tanned from this wheat. In particular,
they have urged it as a valuable vari-
ETY. for the WORKOUT farms of the East
because with such yields farmers can
afford to use fertilizers. According to
one circular, the wheat hourishes IN
dry countries because its native home,
Alaska, is dry; in cold countries, pos
SIbIy for the same reason; and in hot
countries for some reason not stated.
These pretensions have been boil
stored up by lanciful explanations of
ITS origin. According to one authority
the probabilities are that the Jerusa-
lem wheat which DR.. Keemle had in
1870. originated in Palestine. A
Traveller brought a small sheaf of it
back with him to Ireland and hung It
as sign above the a!ehouse which he
kept in Dublin. A farmer CHANGED to
pick up some seeds from the sheaf,
planted them and some years later
sold the produce of several acres at
about $3.50 a pound. Some of this
seed was brought over to America and
distributed among the members of the
Philadelphia Society for the Promo
ton of Agriculture. In this way it
probably came to the knowledge Of
DIR. keemle. The members of the
SnplptU bnWnunr do
have appreciated it, for it created no
stir in this country.
This is the most authentic explana-
ton of its introduction that We have.
A favorite story with promoters is to
the effect that when the coffin of an
Egyptian mummy 5000 or 1000 yeas
old was opened some wheat was found
IN it. The seed was planted, but only
single kernel grew. This, however,
was wonderful yielder and very diff
ferent from any other wheat known.
This story is responsible for such
names as Mummy, wheat 5000
years DID," Egyptian" and mira
Gle" 1t is of course. an absurdity, for
even under the most favorable condi-
tons seeds of wheat do not keep their
vitality more than few years.
In 1908 this wheat was brought fo~-
ward again. this time not as a pro-
duct of Egypt, but of Alaska. 1t was
asserted that an Idaho farmer had
found in a secluded spot of the Alas
kan coast wheat plant with bran
ched head He had brought back one
head, sowed it's seed that fall Tin
1000, obtained 7 pounds to SOW in
1905 and by 1906 had 1,545 pounds,
an increase of 220 fold. From this it
was argued that l bushel of seed per
acre would produce 220 bushels. A
seed-grain company had obtained the
seed from the farmer and would dis
pense it at the rate of $40 bushel.
Upon investigation the department
found that about 700 acres of the
wheat We're being grown for the COM
pany in Idaho. The average yield per
acre was estimated, not at 800 bush
els. but at 25 bushels. Under identi-
cal conditions well-known wheat var
ieties of the Pacific Northwest we've
yielding fully as much or more and