B-1301 TDOC ZTA245.7 B873 H01 15f? \a of Small Grain Crops in Texas Wheat, Oats, Barley, Rye 1582-1976 The Texas Agricultural Experiment Station kgeville P. Clarke, Director, College Station, Texas The Texas A&M University System [Blank Page in Original Bulletin] ~71 History of Small Grain Crops in Texas Wheat, Oats, Barley, Rye 1582-197 6 Wheat for Man’s Bread Introduction, Production, and Research 1582-1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii Oats in Texas Through Three Centuries 1731-1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Barley in Texas from Colonial to Modern Times 1668-1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Rye in Texas 1731-1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Irvin Milburn Atkins \ Professor Emeritus The Texas Agricultural Experiment Station The Texas A&M University System ACKNOWLEDGMENTS As this historical report will include 5O years of my research with small grains and flax in Texas, I would like to acknowledge and express apprecia- tion for the assistance and encouragement of certain people, without mini- mixing the help of many others: First, those who have been closely associated with and who have partici- pated in the work over the years, yet who have endured my pet projects and idiosyncrasies — K. B. Porter, Maurice Futrell, Lucas Reyes, E. S. McFadden, Owen G. Merkle, J. H. Gardenhire, and M. J. Norris. Others, with whom I worked for shorter periods include Keith Lahr, Paul E. Pawlisch, George W. Rivers, Earl C. Gilmore, M. E. McDaniel, Dale Weibel, Harvey Chada, Norris Daniels, R. A. Frederiksen, Fred Dines, Frank Petr, and Paschal Scottina. Second, my immediate superiors in the “old” Division of Cereal Crops and Diseases, U. S. Department of Agriculture, who guided the Regional research throughout the nation, resulting in our present abundance of food — K. S. Quisenberry, L. P. Reitz, H. C. Murphy, G. A. Wiebe, T. R. Stanton, F. A. Coffman, and others. Third, my immediate superiors and coworkers of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station — P. C. Mangelsdorf, Paul B. Dunkle, D. A. Reid, Roy Quinby, R. D. Lewis, and others. Thanks are due Dr. Jarvis Miller for encouragement and for providing funds for recording these efforts. Finally, I would like to dedicate, this last effort to “Sadie and Slim” (Mother and Dad), who encouraged a Kansas farm boy to “go down to Man- hattan and get that education”; and to Mary, my roommate for nearly 5O years, who shared the hopes, trials, tribulations, and, hopefully, accomplish- ments of this plant breeder. Appreciation is expressed to Harpool Seeds, Inc., George Warner Seed Co., and Douglass W. King Seed Co. for financial assistance in publication costs. Wheat for Man’s Bread Introduction, Production, and Research 1582-1976 ' INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . INTRODUCTION OF WHEAT TO THE AMERICAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. The Spanish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The French . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Northern Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WHEAT DURING THE TEXAS COLONIAL PERIOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The E1 Paso Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . South Central Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Central Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Rolling Plains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The High Plains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I ACREAGES AND DISTRIBUTION OF WHEAT IN TEXAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VARIETIES GROWN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Soft Red Winter Wheats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mediterranean Era Other Soft Wheats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Modern Soft Wheats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hard Red Winter Wheats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Turkey Era . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blackhull Era . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tenmarq, Comanche, Westar, and Wichita Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mid-Early Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Early Maturing Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Semi-Dwarf Revolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spring-Type Bread Wheats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Durum Wheats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Emmer, Spelt, and Poulard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HAZARDS OF WHEAT PRODUCTION IN TEXAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Insects Diseases Weather - . . . - - - . - - . . - - . - - - - . . - . . . - . - O - - - - - . - . . - . . - . - . . - . - ¢ - ¢ - - . . - O - - - - - . - - . . - . - . - - - - - - - . . . . - - - - . CONTENTS 1 1 1 4 8 9 l1 17 17 23 23 26 26 26 26 27 27 27 27 27 3O 3O 3O 32 MILLING OF WHEAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IMPROVEMENT OF THE CROP . . . . . . . . . . . . . Early Efforts to Improve Wheat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Early Wheat Improvement in Texas . . . . . . . . . . . The Selection Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Development of the Modern Small Grains Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Breeding Wheat by Hybridization . . . . . . . . . . . . Improving the Soft Wheats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Improving the Hard Red Winter Wheats . . . . . . Turkey Wheats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blackhull Wheats Mid-Season and Early Wheats . . . . . . . . . . . The Semi-Dwarf Program- Redesigning the Wheat Plant . . . . . . . . . . . . Hybrid Wheat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Relationships of Wheat Varieties . . . . . . . . . . . Value of a Plant Breeding Program . . . . . . . . . . WHEAT VARIETIES DEVELOPED OR DISTRIBUTED IN TEXAS BY THE TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION (TAES) . . . . . . . . . . . . . SOME CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE WHEAT RESEARCH PROGRAM IN TEXAS . . . . . . . . . . . DISSEMINATING INFORMATION FOR CROP IMPROVEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Grower Organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Agencies for Inspection and Certification of Seed . . Extension and Forerunners of Extension Service Fairs and Demonstrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY, AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION PERSONNEL MAKING IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO SMALL GRAINS RESEARCH . . . . . . . . . . . . LITERATURE CITED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 38 4O 4O 4O 45 45 £49 49 49 51 5] s! 51 55 55 55 57 57 57 57 59 61 62 WHEAT FOR MAN ’S BREAD ~I Introduction, Production, and Research 1582 — 1976 Wheat is one of the oldest of cultivated crops because the dry, hard seeds are easily stored, attractive, and nutri- tious. Man learned to cultivate this plant, which he found growing wild, and soon began to select the types best suited to his needs. Barley and rice may have been culti- vated before wheat, but all three are described in the earli- est records (Leonard, 72). Wheat was grown in China as early as 2700 B.C. It was grown by the people of the Stone Age in Switzerland. Carbonized wheat grains discovered by archeologists in the tombs of Egypt are estimated by car- bon dating to be 6,000 to 7,000 years old. Wheat is men- tio d several times in the Christian Bible and also in Rig da, the Indian scriptures. The first cultivated wheats were probably primitive hulled types which were spread over the Western part of Europe during the Stone Age. There are several theories as to how the present bread wheats originated. Some histori- ans believe that they originated in the Tigris or Euphrates valleys, while others believe they originated in the Syria or Palestine area of the Near East. Percival (90) suggested that the durum wheats came from Abyssinia and the bread wheats from Afghanistan or northern India. There are no wild forms of modern bread wheat, so some believe that these arose by natural crossing of the wild species T riticum and wild, related species of grasses, such as those of Aegilops. E. S. McFadden, agronomist with the U. S. Department of Agriculture and the Texas Agricultural Experiment Sta- tion, and E. R. Sears, cytologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station, cooperated to develop the theory that common bread wheat arose by natural crossing of a durum-type wheat, T riticum diccoides Korn., and Aegilops squarrosa L., a wild grass which grows as a weed in the Near East. After the cross occurred, the chromosomes of the hybrid plant were doubled in some manner so that the plant became fertile and reproduced. McFadden and Sears (78) made such a cross, doubled the chromosomes by means of the drug colchicine, and produced a fertile plant which they crossed to bread wheat. This plant was capable of reproduction, indicating that the bread wheats could have developed in this manner. Although wheat is now grown on all the continents and in more than 50 countries around the World, it is not native to the Americas. Wheat is the major food crop of Eur , the Americas, Australia, and many countries of Asia d Africa. The fgtotal World acreage is greater than that of any other grain crop, although the total production in pounds or tonnage sometimes is less than that of rice because rice produces greater yields per acre. INTRODUCTION OF WHEAT TO THE AMERICAS There are some undesirable facets of the conquest of the Americas by European countries, but there are desirable effects as well. The introduction of European work and food animals and many crop plants, vegetables, and fruits caused significant changes in the life of native Indians. Wheat is a significant countributor to this change as it soon became the major human food in America, replacing corn. Wheat was introduced through two independent and widely separated pathways--first, by the Spaniards and French into the Southwest and, second, through the eastern U.S. colonists who came for the most part from Northern Europe. The Spanish Morrison (80), who translated the journals of Christo- pher Columbus, records that on the second voyage, in 1493, Columbus wrote the Queen of Spain, “For your information, we brought with us from Spain all sorts of seed and tried them here--namely wheat, beans and chick- peas etc.” Whitaker (121) related that soon after the conquest of Mexico City, Cortez requested the Crownto issue a decree that “every ship bring crop seeds and domestic animals to the New World.” Wheat and barley, in addition to corn, were the first crops grown by the Spaniards, and by 1535 the area around Mexico City was exporting wheat to the West Indies. Whitaker comments also on the first wheat grown in the Americas. It seems that a negro servant was making a “Guisado” (stew) for Cortez, his master, and found a few grains of wheat mixed with the rice. He planted this seed in a flower pot, grew it to maturity, and a thus started the cultivation of wheat. Wheat and other grain crops were taken northward as the Spanish conquered and settled Mexico. The settlement of Saltillo was started in 1575 when 20 families arrived. Carter (28) writes that from the 275 springs in the valley near the Sierra Galena range, grants of land and water rights were given to each family. Soon they were growing corn, wheat, and vegetables for sale to the mining areas nearby. Saltillo became the southern terminus of the roads to New Mexico and Texas. From the Saltillo area, Spanish settlement and influence moved northward through Parras, Torreon, San Bartelome to Santa Barbara on the Conchos River of Mexico by 1580. Exploration into New Mexico and Texas was based at this point for a time beginning with the famous Coronado expedition of 1540. From 1580 to 1680, numerous expedi- tions, still searching for the riches of Quivira, started from this area. Some were very large. Wellman (121) describes Coronado’s expedition as consisting of 336 soldiers, some women and children, and more than 1,500 horses and mules, behind which was driven the Commissary on foot with cattle bawling, sheep bleating, and hogs squealing. Translations by Casteriada (29) show that an expedition, led by Fray Agustin Rodriquez and Francisco Sanchez Chasmuscado, left Santa Barbara in June 1581, traveling down the Conchos River to the Rio Grande. Here they met a friendly tribe of Indians, the Jumanos. They crossed into Texas and explored parts of southern Texas and New Mexico. This expedition went along the Rio Grande about six leagues above La Junta where they “observed a beauti- ful valley where the soils were suited to the cultivation of grain.” They returned to Santa Barbara in January 1582. Later in 1582, Antonio de Espejo led another expedition to the Rio Grande, crossed the river and went north to near present Santa Fe, returned through the Plains, and probably reached the Canadian River of Texas. This expedition also found the Jumanos Indians friendly and learned that Cabeza de Vaca had visited these people in his wanderings in 1535. Translations of the Rodriquiz and Espejo expeditions by Castefiada (29) show that the Jumanos Indians were an agrarian tribe that had lived along the Rio Grande for hundreds of years. They lived in fairly permanent houses and in caves of the area and cultivated crops. Kelley (71) states that archaeological reconnaisance and excavations show that these Indians had lived in that area for a long time and that prehistoric people occupied the area for several thousand years before them. The Jumano Indians had traded with the Spanish for many years prior to 1581. Each summer they went to the Parras area to work in the mines and plantations or ranches of the Spanish, then returned in the fall to harvest their own crops. Castefiada (29) states, “In their long association with the Spanish, they had learned to cultivate corn, wheat, beans, tobacco and cotton. The records state specifically that Espejo observed fields of wheat and corn on both sides of the Rio Grande.” This then appears to be where wheat was first cultivated in Texas. However, the Spanish did not establish permanent settlements at the La Junta (Presidio) area at this time. This occurred about 100 years later and came from the El Paso area. The Juan de Onate expedition also originated in the Santa Barbara area but went north through Chihuahua to Paso del Norte in 1598 and into the Santa Fe area ofNew Mexico (Hallenbeck, 55). Onate established the first per- manent Spanish settlement in what is today the United States. It was on the San Gabriel, a branch of the Rio Grande River. Here, in 1599, the settlers seeded wheat and by 1601 produced 3,200 bushels of wheat for food. The area flourished until 1680, when the Indians revolted and drove the Spanish back to the Chihuahua area. Settlement of the El Paso area dates from 1628, when Fray Antonio de Artega and Father Garcia de San Francis- 2 co de Zuniga established the Senecu Mission. The oldest church in this part of the Southwest is Nuestra Senora, de Guadalupe, in present-day Juarez. It was started in ' and finished in 1668. By 1680, there were 1,000 parishimn- ers who owned 9,000 cattle and 13,000 sheep in the El Paso area. Father Garcia built the first irrigation ditch around the falls of the Rio Grande. The land was under cultivation, growing wheat, corn, beans, grapes, vegetables, and fruit. fj After the Indian revolt of 1680, there was little Spanish settlement for some time. Father Alvarez returned to E1 Paso in 1706 and started reestablishing the church. From 1790 to 1850, the area prospered. Wheat was apparently one of the major crops used to feed the expanding empire. Sonnichsen (105) states that from 1800 to 1850 farms raised great quantities of wheat, which was ground into flour at the local mills. Juan Ponce de Leon, a freighter, obtained a tract of land on the north side of the river in 1827 and grew great fields of wheat and corn, where El Paso now presents acres of brick and asphalt.” Bishop Pedro Tamaron of Torreon visited the El Paso missions in 1760 and reported seeing fine fields of wheat and corn. Pike (91) in 1807 and Linn (73) in 1829 both describe the “beautiful fields of irrigated wheat” at El Paso. According to Calleros (26), the oldest field in contin- uous cultivation in the United States, dating from 1682, adjoins the Ysleta Mission. The settlement of the Presidio, Texas, area by Spaniards occurred about 100 years after the first expeditions visited the area in 1582. (Observations of wheat growing at that location were reported earlier.) Castefiada (29) writes that Don Pedro de Rivera observed fields of wheat and corn near Presidio in 1726. In 1731, Captain Joseph Idoyago visited the mission at San Cristobal on the Texas side of the Rio Grande and observed crops of wheat and corn. Juan Do- minquez de Mendoza, who visited the area in 1748, re- ported, “At the La Junta presidio named La Navidad en las Cruces, there were Jumanos Indians on both sides of the river who were versed in the Spanish language and all cultivated maize and wheat.” Father Nicholas Lopez and two assistants went from El Paso to the La Junta area in 1684 at the request of the J umanos Indians. Several mission churches and villages were established, none of which have survived to modern times. At the junction of Alimetes Creek and the Rio Grande River, the Indians built a church which the Father called La Navidad en Las Cruces; the village was called El Apostol Santiago, These did not survive, but at a later date, 1770 to 1810, a mission called El Fortin de San Jose was built on this site. More recently, in 1848, a trader and rancher named Ben Leaton bought considerable acreage in this area and built a fort and trading post. Parts of the older El Fortin mission were incorporated into his fort. Portions of both structures were incorporated into a Fort Leaton historical site of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, completed in 1978. Time and weather have destroyed most of the old forts, missions, and presidios of that period. Adobe bricks, how- ever, remain intact for long periods in such dry areas as the Big Bend. Hendry (62) found seed and plant parts of wheat, oats, barley, and rye in adobe bricks from missions built i‘ \/ / .,/\ Figure 1A: Grain and straw sections from adobe bricks of Figure 1B: Adobe bricks from Fort Leaton Historical Site Landin Mission of Saltillo, Mexico, in 1747. showing how wheat and grain may be preserved in adobe brick. Figure 1C: Fort Leaton Historical Site near Presidio, Texas. Figure 1D: Flood plain of the Rio Grande where wheat Note flood plain of Rio Grande and mountains of Mexico may have been grown in Texas in 1582. in distance. California before 1700. This writer (I. M. Atkins) has not been able to obtain authentic bricks of this period from either the El Paso or Presidio areas, but samples were ob- tained from the old Landin Mission church near Saltillo, Mexico. Seed and plant parts of wheat and barley from this mission are shown in Figure 1A. Figure 1B shows a newly pressed brick, illustrating how straw and grain may be pressed and preserved in pressed adobe bricks. The restored Fort Leaton Historical Site is shown in Figure 1C and the flood plain of the Rio Grande River at Fort Leaton is shown in Figure 1D, with the mountains on the Mexican side in the distance. This field or one like it could well be the location of the first field of wheat in Texas near 15 82. Caves in the Big Bend area contain artifacts, paintings, and pictographs of earlier times. A metate or grinding stone used by the Indians for grinding seed was found in a cave by Blake Williams (see section Milling, Figure 19A). Independently of the settlements at El Paso, a number of attempts were made to explore and establish settlements east of the El Paso area. According to Chiodo (33), a priest and several soldiers made a semi-permanent settlement in Real County in 1629. Considerably later, in 1762, Mission Buno was established at Montell in Real County; it stood for 5O years. Remains of irrigation ditches and fields cleared for farming still can be seen. A mission, San Cle- mente, was built by the Spanish in Runnels or Coleman County in 1683, according to Chabot (32), but in 1969 Conners (39) found the remnants of the mission on the San Saba River in Menard County. There is no record of wheat being grown at either of these locations, but it could have been. The Spanish were greatly concerned about French settle- ments and exploration at this time. Ashford (4) recounts the story of five expeditions by Captain Alonzo de Leon from south of the Rio Grande between 1685 and 1690. These were designed to drive out the French and establish permanent settlements. Among the supplies listed for the trip were 150 loads of flour (probably burro loads). This indicates that wheat and flour were readily available at Saltillo in 1690. Even 150 years later, in 1828, General Teran reported that Saltillo flour was available at Austin, at a price of 43 pesos per barrel (Bolton, 18). Attempts to colonize Texas continued. According to Chabot (31), the St. Denis and Ramon expedition explored as far as the San Antonio area in 1716 and, upon their return, recommended that 30 families be settled in the area. With another expedition, the Marquis de Aguayo went to San Antonio in 1719 and, upon his return to Mexico, recommended that 200 families be brought from the Canary Islands. Plans for this program were developed and, in 1731, the first 52 persons came via Vera Cruz and Saltil- lo, arriving March 9. As a presidio had already been built, the families were given quarters in the presidio, and the records show that “It was the season for planting. By March 31, lands between the San Antonio River and San Pedro Creek were cleared for immediate planting. By June 30, two fanegans (a fanegan is about 2.58 bushels) of corn, some wheat, barley, cotton and vegetables were sown.” Other missions were established in similar manner. All were planned to be self sufficient. All had farms on which cotton, grain, flax, vegetables, and sugar cane were grown 4 (Johnson, 67). Although corn and other grains are mentioned in several reports, wheat apparently did not immediately become established as a crop. All San Amok missions had good irrigating ditches and grew cott , grains, and vegetables (Bolton, 18). In 1745, the four San Antonio missions grew 4,000 bushels of corn, but wheat is not mentioned. They had at this time 9,000 head of horses, cattle, sheep, and goats. The ranches extended downstream along the San Antonio River for 14 miles. The last missionary at San Jose was Father Jose Manuel Pedrijo, 1789 to 1794. The San Jose Mission, built 1720- 1749, is shown in Figure 2A. According to Habig (53), Pedrijo trained the Indian women to operate looms and weave cloth. He also improved the products of the farm, growing wheat and barley, as well as corn, beans, and vegetables. A large granary (Figure 2B) was built in 1749, and in 1794 there were 432 bushels of wheat on hand. During this period, Father Pedrijo designed and built a mill to grind corn and wheat. Arenson (3) described the irrigation facilities built by the Spanish from E1 Paso to San Antonio. The first irriga- tion ditch for the four San Antonio missions was built in 1729; by 1745 all had good irrigation facilities, using water from the San Antonio River. At this time the river averaged 60 feet wide and 5 feet deep. The irrigation ditch which ran to Mission San Francisco de la Espada is still in use, 140 years later (Figure 2C). An aqueduct carrying the Espada ditch over Piedra Creek is shown in Figure 2D. Bolton (18) translated the records of three little-known missions built in Central Texas from 1745 to 1758. Fray Mariano de los Dolores y Viana of San Antonio led a small group of soldiers and settlers to near present-day Rockdale (50 miles northeast of Austin on the St. Zavier River, now called the San Gabriel). They built three missions and a rock dam to divert the water to irrigate fields. Then they “planted maize, grain, potatoes and beans.” In addition to maize, grain is mentioned, so it seems probable that wheat and barley were planted. The missions were abandoned in 1758. When the St. Zavier missions failed, the Padres moved the remaining supplies to the San Saba River area where a presidio already had been built. The mission at San Saba was built during a period of friendship with the Indians. Again, Bolton (18) relates that “In accordance with the Viceroy’s instructions, the soldiers were assigned land to cultivate and the soil was prepared for sowing grains.” Wheat may have been seeded at San Saba during this period. One instance of the growing of wheat in Central Texas is well recorded. An early settlement and mission was made at Pilar de Bucarili on the Trinity River east of present-day Madisonville. The settlers of Adaes, an earlier settlement near Natchitoches, Louisiana, did not want to return to San Antonio when the East Texas missions were aban- doned, so they settled at Bucarili. Bolton (18) states, “In 1777 they grew a good crop of wheat.” The French The Spanish and French were in competition for the territory west of the Mississippi River at this time. The.’ *1! Figure 2A: San Jose Mission, San Antonio, Texas, built 1720-49. Restored 1927-41. Figure 2C: The irrigation canal from the San Antonio river to Mission Espada. Built in 1743 and still in use. Figure 2B: The granary at San Jose Mission, San Antonio, Texas, built in 1749. Figure 2D: Aqueduct across Piedra creek carrying the irrigation ditch shown in Figure 2C. war between France and Spain in 1718 stimulated the colonies to establish claims to what is now Texas. In the French and U.S. army archives, McConnell (76) found that the French mobilized at Natchitoches, Louisiana, and sent Bernard de la Harpe up the Red River with a force to establish forts and hold the territory. La Harpe and assis- tants. established a small fort among the Caddo Indians at the bend of the Red River near present-day Texarkana. The exact location of this fort is still being investigated. Another fort was located in Oklahoma and another 500 miles up the Red River from Natchitoches, Louisiana. This would locate it in thepresent “Old Spanish Fort” area of Montague County. This location was described as “on the south bank of the Red River, on a beautiful prairie, in a very fertile country” (McConnell, 76). John Sibley led an expedition to explore Texas and Louisiana in 1806 (Lowrie, 74). He was accompanied by a guide, Francis Grappe, who was born and grew to manhood at the French fort near Texarkana. His father was the Caddo Indian agent there for 35 years. Grappe stated that “the Caddoques (Caddos) had lived here from time irn- memorial.” Before Louisiana was ceded to Spain, several French families settled at the fort. They cultivated crops of corn, wheat, beans, tobacco, pumpkins, and melons. Burrs for grinding grain were brought from France, anda small mill was built. Grappe states that “they grew several crops of wheat.” However, in a later statement, he mentions “little wheat was grown because the seasons were either too dry or too wet.” He also mentions that the wheat was sown in March and harvested in June, indicating that it probably was of a spring-type variety. Other evidence of growing wheat in this area-is given by Bolton (19) from letters of De Mezieres, the agent at Natchitoches, who in 1771 wrote the Governor at New Orleans, “Your Lordship is already informed of the esta- blishment of wheat culture in this district but, as that which I sowed last year failed because of the wet season, I beg of you to order six fanegans (about 16 bushels) of wheat seed, two fanegans of rye and some barley.” The name “Old Spanish Fort” for the Montague location does not mean Spanish ownership when it was established but resulted from later developments. After the Comanche and Apache Indians sacked the Spanish San Saba Mission in 1758, the Spanish organized an expedition under General Parilla to punish the Indians and drive them back into the Plains country. This expedition left San Antonio in July 1759 and reached the Red River area of North Texas in October. Here the Spanish were surprised to find a fortified fort flying the French flag. The Comanche and Taovayo Indians, with a few French soldiers, defeated Parilla’s troops, and they retreated to San Antonio. The Taovayo Indians were a semi-agrarian subtribe of the Wichita tribe, who had lived at this location for many years. Some authors believe that Coronado visited them on his trip into the“; area. They lived in established houses much of the year and cultivated some crops. Morrow described their cone-shaped grass houses as looking like “beehives” (Henderson, 61). At the Montague location, they had a fortified village with entrenchments, stockades, and under- ground tunnels for escape. The French observed one village having 123 houses with 10 to 12 bunks in each. They grew 6 corn, wheat, beans, and pumpkins. The French abandoned this fort in 1762, and a later report (McConnell, 76) states that the Taovayos were driven back into East Texas by '7 Osage Indians in 1795. After Texas was ceded to Spain by the French in 1762, De Mezieres, the agent at Natchitoches, made a treaty with the Taovayos in 1770 (Bolton, 19). The villages of San Bernado, on the Oklahoma side, and San Teodore, on the Texas side of the Red River, became Spanish trading posts but are now extinct. The present Spanish Fort location was later called Burlington. Henderson (61) prepared a map of this area (Figure 3A) showing the location of the villages. A field of wheat grow- ing in this area in 1978 is shown in Figure 3B. Anglo-Amer- ican settlers of Montague in 1858' found remnants of the old fort and named it “Old Spanish Fort.” A historical plaque now marks the site (Figure 3C). In 1834, U.S. army troops, the Dragoons, visited the fort. With them was an artist, George Catlin, who painted the village of the Tao- vayos (Figure 3D), occupied by Osage Indians in 1834. Northern Areas Wheat was first grown in northeastern America at Ply- mouth in 1602, according to Carrier (27). Farmers in Penn- sylvania began growing wheat about 1643, and it soon be- came their leading crop. Wheat was sown at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1611. As most Europeans preferred wheat bread, the crop moved westward as the country was settled and soon became the major food grain. Immigrants to Texas from the midwestern, northeastern, and southeastern states, carrying crop seeds of all kinds with them, were un- doubtedly the sources of the first wheat production in Texas as described in the following sections. I WHEAT DURING THE TEXAS COLONIAL PERIOD The El Paso Area Although the El Paso area does not at present grow much wheat, this and adjoining areas of Mexico were im- portant producers of wheat in earlier days. In 1858 the population of El Paso was 300 and the area now comprising the main business district was filled with fields of wheat, corn, and vegetables (White, 23). Linn (73), Reid (95), and Cox (40), each on trips to California about 1850, com- mented on the excellent wheat grown at El Paso. Bell (15) in 1854 observed that “Wheat yields a good crop and mills make as fine a flour as could be desired.” Taylor (108), who went by horseback from San Antonio to El Paso and on to California in 1876, observed wheat as one of the principal crops in the river valleys of the Guada- lupe, San Marcos, Llano, San Saba, and Colorado. He states “Though cotton, corn, wheat, oats, and barley are grown here, wheat is the favorite crop—but it is not profitable because we are too far from market. If we had a railroad to Houston and Galveston, they could become major shipping points for wheat and flour. They sow it in the fall and pas- ture their cattle and horses on it in the winter, thereby reducing the risk of frost. The harvest varies from 25 tr» "W! Figure 3A: Map of Old Spanish Fort area, north of Nocona, Texas, where the French built a fort, settled families and grew wheat 1719-58. (Courtesy I.P.T.A. Printers Inc.) f? l. . “w” {L . . Figure 3C: A field of wheat in the Old Spanish Fort area where wheat was probably grown by the French and Indians between 1719 and 1758. Figure 3B: State historical marker at Old Spanish Fort, north of Nocona, Texas. Figure 3D: A Taovayo or Caddo Indian village of straw huts as seen by Catlin at Old Spanish Fort in 1834. (Painting by Geoge Catlin; courtesy The Dover Publications, New York.) P‘! f 4O bushels per acre. Fredericksburg has three flour mills with ajoint capacity of 300 barrels per day.” Of Fort Stockton he reports, “There is an irrigated val- ley of 3000 acres near here where a farmer grows wheat, barley, and corn.” Of Fort Davis, he says, “There is a flour mill here and considerable quantities of very fine wheat are raised in the Toyah valley a few miles north.” Farther west at El Paso, he reports (1876) “Here are great crops of wheat, barley, corn, grapes, and vegetables, all irrigated from the Rio Grande.” Apparently wheat production in the El Paso area de- clined after 1850; the U.S. Agricultural Census of 1860 (118) shows only 16,889 bushels and in 1900 only 3,460 bushels. After 1900, crops grown on irrigated land shifted to alfalfa, cotton, and vegetables. Very recently, however, there has been renewed interest in growing wheat in far West Texas-the 1975 agricultural census in the Trans- Pecos crop reporting district shows 30,000 acres of wheat (115). South Central Texas Settlement of South and East Texas began in earnest about 1820, although Nacogdoches, San Antonio, Goliad, and a few other places date their establishment still earlier. Settlements were frequently made by ethnic groups~the Germans in the Hill Country, the immigrants from Alsace- Loraine at Castorville, the Irish at Refugio, the Polish at Pana Maria, and the Czechs in Fayette County. At about the same time, AngloAmericans and others were coming overland into East and Northeast Texas. Wheat as a crop was apparently rather slow in becoming established in these areas. Mary Austin Holley, sister of Moses Austin, traveled in Texas in 1833. She wrote (65), “Experiments have been made in growing wheat, oats, barley, rye, and flax and they have succeeded in the undu- lating country back from the Coast.” She also advised all immigrants to bring all types of seed, especially grains and grasses. Muir (81), traveling through South Texas in 1837, wrote, “Corn is the only breadstuff here. Wheat of the States will not answer in so warm a climate.” Walker (119) quotes Mrs. Collin, a pioneer of Cameron, “In 1846, corn and cotton are the only crops here. Flour costs as much as $100 per barrel sometimes.” On the other hand, Bracht (22), who was in business from 1845 to 1848 and traveled in South Texas, wrote, “All the European grain crops thrive in the Hill Country.” F. L. Olmsted (87), the designer of New York Central Park, visited Texas in 1848. At New Braunfels, he visited L. C. Ehrenberg, a German minister and trained botanist who ran a home for children whose parents had died on their way to Texas. Olmsted observed in Ehrenberg’s gar- den, wheat from Europe, Algiers, Arabia, Egypt, and St. Helena. This might be called the first wheat variety test in Texas. A few years later, a farmer at Fredericksburg grew 110 kinds of wheat obtained from the U.S. Patent Office. By 1860 farmers had changed from spring to winter wheats because the spring wheats headed too early and were damaged by frost (Jordan, 70). While on a trip to California 8 in 1849, Cox (40) passed La Grange and remarked that “Wheat was observed in their fields and this speaks well for the soil.” Farm and Ranch magazine, April 1890, quoted a - respondent, “In 1844, my brother Rufus sent abroad for two bushels of seed wheat. From this he grew the finest crop of wheat ever grown in Lavaca County.” Baker (10) translated four letters of John Moczigemba of Pana Maria to his relatives in Poland. One states, “Here we have no winter. The wheat is not like ours, it is Turkish.” As few kinds or varieties of wheat will grow in this area, this possi- bly could have been durum wheat or emmer. An early German settlement was established in 1835 at Cat Spring, Austin County. Farmers organized the Cat Spring Agricultural Society in1856 to conduct experiments 0n the adaptation of crops. They obtained seed and plants from the U.S. Patent Office, their homes in Europe, and any other source available from 1856 to 1886. The Associa- tion still is active but now is largely social. The notes of their meetings were translated by E. C. Miller, former Extension agronomist, Texas A&M University (30). These reports indicate that growing wheat in South Texas was similar to growing it in modern times. Only cer- tain disease resistant types can be grown satisfactorily. The Austin Times in 1883 (Barkley, 12) summed up the situa- tion as follows, “Wheat and rye do not grow one year in five in the Milheim-Cat Spring area but oats do well.” Batte (14) stated that 535 bushels of wheat were grown in Milam County in 1850, but the 1859 census showed no wheat grown. Central Texas The fort built by the French near Texarkana in 1719 did not survive (McConnell, 76). Permanent settlement in this area started between 1820 and 1830. James Clark settled four families on the Red River, above present-day Clarks- ville, in 1819 (Clark, 36). They put the first land into culti- vation about 1830, growing cotton, corn, and wheat. Wheat production expanded rapidly after 1840, and by 1860 Lamar County produced 149,000 bushels of wheat. A trading post was established at Preston Bend, north of Sherman, in 1833; a few settlers reached Greenville in 1839; John Neely Bryan settled on the Trinity at the loca- tion which became Dallas in 1841; the Peters Colony came to McKinney in 1843; and Denton County was established in 1846 (Richardson, 98). The Socialist French colony of La Reunion settled on the south bank of the Trinity, near present Dallas downtown skyscrapers, in 1852. According to Hammond (56), “Their fields ripened abundant crops of wheat and corn.” The rapid settlement of this area is shown by fact that 10 years after Denton was established, there were 600 registered voters. Parker County was organized in 1856, and by 1860 had 6,000 residents (Holden, 64). He quotes the Clarksville Northern Standard that from 1850 to 1860 frequently there were 50 settler’s wagons passing through Clarksville per day. It is estimated that 400,000 people immigrated to Texas in 1876. Undoubtedly most settlers brought crop seeds, including wheat. An important factor in the expansion of wheat acreage‘ from 1850 to 1900 was the developments in planting, harvesting, and threshing equipment. Brown (23) believes t st wheat grown in Dallas County was that grown by C. Cochran in 1845. George Jackson (68), who moved with his family to Farmers Branch (Dallas County) in 1849, describes wheat growing as follows, “We grew three acres the first year, harvested it with a cradle and threshed it with a flail.” A cradle is shown in Figure 4A. Wheat growing in Denton County is described by Rogers (99) as follows, “My family moved to Denton County in 1850, when I was 16 years old. My father seeded wheat by scattering it by hand, plowing it in, cutting the grain with a cradle, shocking the bundles, then cleared a place on the ground and used horses to tramp out the grain.” Cyrus Hall McCormick invented the first reaper in 1831 (77), and soon it and machines designed by others were available to growers. An early, mower-type, horse-drawn grain harvester advertised in the 1858 American Agricultur- alist ( 1) is shown in Figure 4B. These machines were rapidly improved and soon bound as well as cut the sheaf. Harvest- ing with the horse-drawn, self-binder in Denton County in 1896 is shown in Figure 4C. The flail (Figure 5A) had been used for threshing grain for centuries. The next stage in development of grain threshing was the use of horses or other livestock to tramp out the grain from the sheaf. It was a common practice during the American colonial period. Smithwick (104), an early settler of the Hill Country, traveled to California in 1861. He wrote, “All along the Rio Grande there were little Mexican pueblos. It was the time for harvest and in each village there was a threshing floor. The straw was arranged around a pole. A band of horses were driven into the enclosure and around the center pole at a gallop. The horsemen formed a ring around them to keep them from breaking away. The stack was thus trampled down, the straw shaken out and the grain cleaned.” (Figure 5B). Figure 5B is a copy of a famous painting by O. E. Berning- haus entitled “Threshing at the Taos Indian Pueb1o,” depicting this method of threshing about 1850. The threshing machine was invented about 1850, and improvements followed rapidly. Figure 5C shows an early thresher in which a team of horses provide the power by means of a treadmill. Later, steam-powered engines were developed for driving threshers and pulling plows. The first wheat was grown in Dallas County in 1845, and by 1856 the county had 40 Emory threshing machines (Richardson, 98). In 1887, 1,300 binders were sold in Dallas County (Farm and Ranch, 51). Figure 5D shows a large custom threshing crew in operation near Canyon in 1922. Planting operations also were crude during the colonial period. Bowyer (21) quotes from the diary of Elder Horn, whose family moved to McKinney in 1846, “My gang plow is answering a first rate service as I shall have no trouble in plowing in my small grain.” However by 1880, farmers were planting wheat with a drilling machine from Michigan which could plant 8 acres per day (Richardson, 98). All these improvements in machinery furthered the ex- pansion of wheat acreage so that the production in Texas increased from 41,729 in 1850 to 2,500,000 bushels in 1880. The Texas Almanac (110) records that Denton and Wilbarger Counties each produced 2 million bushels in 1904. Farther south in Central Texas, settlement and crop production also were rapidly expanding (Tyler, 116). The Tennessee Colony settled at Nashville, below Waco on the Brazos, in 1834. Waco was established in 1851, Salado in 1851, Lampassas in 1848, and wheat was grown in McClennan County in 1850. Wheat, rye, and barley were grown for home consumption until about 1870, when these became commercial crops as well. Many water mills for grinding the grain were constructed along the Balcones Fault line between the Blackland area and the Edwards Plateau. The Rolling Plains Wheat and other crops became established in the Rolling Plains approximately 20 years later than in Central Texas. Some settlement of the area started about 1850, but the combined effects of the Civil War and Indian depredations caused considerable retrenchment from 1860 to 1870. The line of settlement in 1860 was from Montague County southwest through Fort Griffin to Kerrville. The population of the Rolling Plains was less in 1870 than in 1860, but resettlement started again in 1867 (Holden, 64). The settled area in 1876 was 50 miles west of that in 1870. Along the railroads, it extended in some places as much as 150 miles farther west. An estimated 400,000 settlers came into Texas during this period, and the popu- lation increased from 4,142 in 1850 to 755,260 in 1900. In one year, June 1876 to June 1877, an estimated 5 million acres ofland were homesteaded in this area. Farm groups, real estate agencies, chambers of com- merce, railroads, and the large centers of population pro- moted settlement of the Rolling Plains through circulars, advertisements in eastern news media, and promotion folders prepared by immigration groups. The Dallas Fair was established in 1886 and the Fort Worth Spring Palace in 1889 to display the products grown in Texas. Railroads established demonstration fields along the right-of-way where crops and vegetables were grown for display. Special round-trip fares, as low as $25 from Chicago, were offered. This expansion was an outgrowth of some of the first farming in the Rolling Plains, which was done by the Lndians. In 1854, Major Robert S. Neighbors, U.S. Indian Agent for Texas, convinced the Texas Legislature to set aside 12 leagues of land for an Indian reservation (86). This area of 37,000 acres was located on the Salt Fork of the Brazos River just south of Graham, Young County. Some of the semi-agrarian Indians from East Texas were moved there in 1856. They had always grown corn for food;how- ever, this climate was not well adapted to growing corn so Neighbors introduced wheat. Wheat proved to be a well- adapted crop and soon was accepted by the Indians, and in 1859 they grew 1,560 bushels, probably the first wheat in the Rolling Plains. Approximately 1,000 acres of sod on 12 farms were broken out in Brown County in 1870 (Harris, 59). The Donnell Brothers moved to Young County in 1876 to begin ranching, but in 1877 they built a flour mill on Clear Creek (Crouch, 42), even though there were only a few fields of wheat nearby. Farther west in Coleman (Bruce, 24), a Mr. 9 Figure 4A: Hand-operated cradle for harvesting grain. Figure 4B: Horse-drawn mechanical harvester of the Introduced to America about 1776 and the common instru- period. (Courtesy American Agriculturalist magaz . ment of grain harvesting until 1840. (Courtesy Intema- tional Harvester Co.) Figure 4C: Harvesting with horse-drawn ‘binders about 1900. (Courtesy Texas & Pacific Railroad.) from 1850 to 1900 was the developments in planting, harvesting, and threshing equipment. Brown (23) believes st wheat grown in Dallas County was that grown by C. Cochran in 1845. George Jackson (68), who moved with his family to Farmers Branch (Dallas County) in 1849, describes wheat growing as follows, “We grew three acres the first year, harvested it with a cradle and threshed it with a flail.” A cradle is shown in Figure 4A. Wheat growing in Denton County is described by Rogers (99) as follows, “My family moved to Denton County in 1850, when I was 16 years old. My father seeded wheat by scattering it by hand, plowing it in, cutting the grain with a cradle, shocking the bundles, then cleared a place on the ground and used horses to tramp out the grain.” Cyrus Hall McCormick invented the first reaper in 1831 (77), and soon it and machines designed by others were available to growers. An early, mower-type, horse-drawn grain harvester advertised in the 1858 American Agricultur- alist (1) is shown in Figure 4B. These machines were rapidly improved and soon bound as well as cut the sheaf. Harvest- ing with the horse-drawn, self-binder in Denton County in 1896 is shown in Figure 4C. The flail (Figure 5A) had been used for threshing grain for centuries. The next stage in development of grain threshing was the use of horses or other livestock to tramp out the grain from the sheaf. It was a common practice during the American colonial period. Smithwick (104), an early settler of the Hill Country, traveled to California in 1861. He wrote, “All along the Rio Grande there were little Mexican pueblos. It was the time for harvest and in each village there was a threshing floor. The straw was arranged around a pole. A band of horses were driven into the enclosure and around the center pole at a gallop. The horsemen formed a ring around them to keep them from breaking away. The stack was thus trampled down, the straw shaken out and the grain cleaned.” (Figure 5B). Figure 5B is a copy of a famous painting by O. E. Berning- haus entitled “Threshing at the Taos Indian Pueblo,” depicting this method of threshing about 1850. The threshing machine was invented about 1850, and improvements followed rapidly. Figure 5C shows an early thresher in which a team of horses provide the power by means of a treadmill. Later, steam-powered engines were developed for driving threshers and pulling plows. The first wheat was grown in Dallas County in 1845, and by 1856 the county had 40 Emory threshing machines (Richardson, 98). In 1887, 1,300 binders were sold in Dallas County (Farm and Ranch, 51). Figure 5D shows a large custom threshing crew in operation near Canyon in 1922. Planting operations also were crude during the colonial period. Bowyer (21) quotes from the diary of Elder Horn, whose family moved to McKinney in 1846, “My gang plow is answering a first rate service as I shall have no trouble in plowing in my small grain.” However by 1880, farmers were planting wheat with a drilling machine from Michigan which could plant 8 acres per day (Richardson, 98). All these improvements in machinery furthered the ex- pansion of wheat acreage so that the production in Texas increased from 41,729 in 1850 to 2,500,000 bushels in 1880. The Texas Almanac (110) records that Denton and Wilbarger Counties each produced 2 million bushels in 1904. Farther south in Central Texas, settlement and crop production also were rapidly expanding (Tyler, 116). The Tennessee Colony settled at Nashville, below Waco on the Brazos, in 1834. Waco was established in 1851, Salado in 1851, Lampassas in 1848, and wheat was grown in McClennan County in 1850. Wheat, rye, and barley were grown for home consumption until about 1870, when these became commercial crops as well. Many water mills for grinding the grain were constructed along the Balcones Fault line between the Blackland area and the Edwards Plateau. The Rolling Plains Wheat and other crops became established in the Rolling Plains approximately 20 years later than in Central Texas. Some settlement of the area started about 1850, but the combined effects of the Civil War and Indian depredations caused considerable retrenchment from 1860 to 1870. The line of settlement in 1860 was from Montague County southwest through Fort Griffin to Kerrville. The population of the Rolling Plains was less in 1870 than in 1860, but resettlement started again in 1867 (Holden, 64). The settled area in 1876 was 50 miles west of that in 1870. Along the railroads, it extended in some places as much as 150 miles farther west. An estimated 400,000 settlers came into Texas during this period, and the popu- lation increased from 4,142 in 1850 to 755,260 in 1900. In one year, June 1876 to June 1877, an estimated 5 million acres ofland were homesteaded in this area. Farm groups, real estate agencies, chambers of com- merce, railroads, and the large centers of population pro- moted settlement of the Rolling Plains through circulars, advertisements in eastern news media, and promotion folders prepared by immigration groups. The Dallas Fair was established in 1886 and the Fort Worth Spring Palace in 1889 to display the products grown in Texas. Railroads established demonstration fields along the right-of-way where crops and vegetables were grown for display. Special round-trip fares, as low as $25 from Chicago, were offered. This expansion was an outgrowth of some of the first farming in the Rolling Plains, which was done by the Indians. In 1854, Major Robert S. Neighbors, U.S. Indian Agent for Texas, convinced the Texas Legislature to set aside 12 leagues ofland for an Indian reservation (86). This area of 37,000 acres was located on the Salt Fork of the Brazos River just south of Graham, Young County. Some of the semi-agrarian Indians from East Texas were moved there in 1856. They had always grown corn for food; how- ever, this climate was not well adapted to growing corn so Neighbors introduced wheat. Wheat proved to be a well- adapted crop and soon was accepted by the Indians, and in 1859 they grew 1,560 bushels, probably the first wheat in the Rolling Plains. Approximately 1,000 acres of sod on 12 farms were broken out in Brown County in 1870 (Harris, 59). The Donnell Brothers moved to Young County in 1876 to begin ranching, but in 1877 they built a flour mill on Clear Creek (Crouch, 42), even though there were only a few fields of wheat nearby. Farther west in Coleman (Bruce, 24), a Mr. 9 Figure 4A: Hand-operated cradle for harvesting grain. Figure 4B: Horse-drawn mechanical harvester of the Introduced t0 America about 1776 and the common instru- period. (Courtesy American Agriculturalist magaz ment of grain harvesting until 1840. (Courtesy Intema- tional Harvester Co.) Figure 4C: Harvesting with horse-drawn ‘binders about 1900. (Courtesy Texas & Pacific Railroad.) Cheatham grew wheat in 1874, bought the first thresher in the area, and built a flour mill. He put flour in bright red e cotton sacks printed with Cheatham’s Best XXXX . Before this, flour was usually packed in barrels. The first wheat was grown in Wilbarger County in 1890, but the crop failed in 1892 and 1893. However, it was soon re-established, and by 1904, the County grew 2 million bushels of wheat (Collins, 37). Wheat as a cash grain crop is still important in the Rolling Plains. In 1977, the Waggoner Ranch at Vernon continues, as it has for many years, to grow wheat on a 14,000-acre field along the Wichita River south of Vernon. Hardeman County produced four carloads of wheat in 1888, and after a bumper crop in 1891, immense areas of prairie land were plowed out. Soon hundreds of carloads of wheat were produced each year. As late as 1895, wheat land was advertised at $10 per acre in the Wichita Falls area (Neal, 85). The Farm and Ranch Magazine of January 1894 (51) reported that a Mr. Specht of Iowa Park had grown “wheat for 25 years, never producing less than 25 bushels per acre. , Farming started in the Abilene area in the l880’s, but many farms were abandoned during the 23-month drouth of 1886-87 (Duff, 48). The first carload of wheat was shipped from Shackelford County in 1883. Near Baird, Callaham County, the Texas and Pacific Railroad esta- blished an experimental or demonstration farm where grains, cotton, vegetables, and fruit were grown to impress settlers (Blackburn, 17). Farther west at Stanton, Martin County, a smiliar demonstration farm was established (Hutto, 66). German settlers were brought in to establish the new town of Mariensfield, which later became Stanton. They grew wheat, cotton, barley, rye, oats, and sorghums for feed. Wheat averaged 39 bushels per acre in 1884, and samples were sent to the World Fair at New Orleans, where one won a gold medal. Baker (9) says that farther west, in Hall County, the first wheat was grown in 1891, but Mrs. Taylorl states that 10 acres of wheat were grown at Childress in 1887. A col- ony of German families settled in Baylor County in 1878. These were from Indiana and were reported to have paid $1.50 per acre for 400,000 acres of land. Another group, from Pennsylvania, homesteaded on 54,400 acres in Throckmorton County in 1878 and established the town of Williamsburg. Wheat immediately became a major crop in these counties (Holden, 64). The High Plains Some settlers went to the High Plains before 1890 but generally that was the era of the big cattle ranches. Most settlement occurred from 1890 to 1920, some 20 years later than the Rolling Plains settlement. In 1880 only 648 acres were classified as tilled land, but by 1900 there were ,059 farms with 244,628 acres of tilled land (Nall, 82). Early explorers expressed unfavorable evaluations of the 1 Personal interview of Mrs. Joe Taylor with G. L. Brown- 6; Panhandle Plains Historical Museum, Canyon, Texas. High Plains area. Major Stephen H. Long led a military ex- pedition into the Canadian River area in 1820. Nall (82) quotes from Long’s military records, “In regard to this section of the country, I do not hesitate to say that it is wholly unfit for cultivation.” Marcy, who explored the area in 1849 said, “The Llano Estacado is a desolate waste of uninhabited solitude which always has been and must re- main uninhabited forever” (76). Even after experimenting with crops from 1906 to 1919 at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Experiment Station at Amarillo, (Ross, 101) ex- pressed the opinion that the area should remain largely in grass and large ranches. The first towns established in the High Plains area were Mobetee in 1875, Old Tascosa in 1876, and Old Clarendon in 1878. Spikes (106) believes that the first land cultivated on the High Plains was at the Quaker settlement of Estaca- do in Crosby County in 1879. This settlement did not sur- vive, but a 20-acre field was broken out of sod and feed grains and vegetables grown. Later, in 1912, large acreages were put under cultivation at this location by the C. B. Livestock Company. Apparently wheat was seeded at several locations be- tween 1885 and 1900, and it is difficult to determine which was the first planting. The XIT ranch2 grew oats in 1887 and 1888, but wheat is not mentioned until 1889 when it was planted at three units of the ranch. Wheat, oats, and barley were seeded for several years, but yields were low and there were many failures. The Tasocosa Pioneer, first newspaper in the High Plains, stated in 1888 that “Colonel Goodnight has planted 100 acres of wheat, the first ever sown here” (Archambeau, 2). Both Phillips3 and Nall (82) credit G. T. Oliver of Washburn and W. W. Ferguson of Silverton with growing wheat the same year. The records of the XIT ranch (123) report that a 335- acre field of Little Red May wheat variety was grown at White Deer in 1892. It averaged 18 bushels per acre, and the entire lot of 6,096 bushels was hauled to Wichita Falls by wagons. Wheat was grown in 1892 in Hale County, also, although the County was organized in 1876, and the first settler came in 1882. However, no wheat was shipped from Plainview until the railroad reached there in 1907 (Cox, 41), but in 1919 Hale County produced 2.5 million bushels of wheat. Wheat acreage expanded rapidly in the High Plains area after 1980. Lipscomb County commissioners purchased a carload of seed wheat and distributed it to growers in 1890. George Tyng, manager of the White Deer Land Company, Gray County, experimented with wheat from 1892 to 1894, growing it beside the railroad to demonstrate its culture to prospective land buyers (Nall, 84). Acker4 re- ports that L. A. Pierce grew the first wheat in his communi- ty, 22 miles southwest of Amarillo, in 1898. A neighbor, a Mr. Reece bought the first binder in 1898 and J. C. Womble 2 XIT ranch records in the Archives of the Panhandle Plains Museum, Canyon, Texas. 3 Phillips, Francis. The development of agricluture in the Panhandle-Plains of Texas to 1920. MS. Thesis, West Texas State Teachers College, Canyon, Texas, 1946. 4 Archie Acker file. Interviews with L. A. Pierce. Pan- handle-Plains Memorial Museum, Canyon, Texas. 11 Figure 5A: Flailing wheat as portrayed by F. R. Petrie. (Courtesy Texas Memorial Museum, Austin, Texas.) Figure SD: A custom threshing crew at Canyon, Texas, about 1920. (Courtesy Panhandle Plains Museum, Canyon, Texas.) 12 Figure 5B: Threshing time at Taos pueblos. A painting showing a pattern 0f threshing in Spanish countries for s of years. Painting by Beminghaus. (Courtesy W oc Museum, The Frank Phillips Foundation, Bartels- ville, Oklahoma.) Figure 5C: An early horse-powered, treadmill thresher of 1850 vintage. (Courtesy American Agriculturalist maga- zine.) 13 bought the first “ground hog” thresher in 1903. The first rail car of wheat was shipped from Canyon in 1905. J. N. Askren grew 100 acres of dryland wheat at Hereford in 1903. On the North Plains, Cas Thompson and M. D. Minor grew the first wheat in Moore County in 1903. Hansford County held its first County Fair in 1907. O. P. Beagle and Sam Brillhart grew the first wheat in Ochiltree County in 1903, but the first commercial crop of wheat was hauled to Liberal, Kansas in 1912 (Nall, 84). As was true some 20 years earlier in the Rolling Plains area, the High Plains area was subject to high pressure land promotion from 1900 to 1920. Real estate companies, large ranch organizations, railroads, and chambers of commerce for many counties and cities used news stories, advertising leaflets, and commercial advertising to attract settlers and sell land. The railroads continued to run special trains with lowered fares to encourage groups and individuals to in- spect the land, which to Eastern buyers, seemed very cheap. Many of the big ranches were broken up into smaller units at this time; railroads had land for sale, and State land was available in several ways. Undeveloped land sold for $1 to $5 per acre and partially developed land from $5 to $15 per acre. Earth Magazine (50) estimated that 2,500 families passed through Amarillo during 1907 on their way to settle in the High Plains area. William P. Soash, a promoter from Waterloo, Iowa, organized and conducted 87 special trains to Texas from 1905 to 1908. Each train carried 75 to 150 prospective land buyers, who were charged only $25 round- trip rates from Chicago (Nall, 82). Another development which stimulated the growing of wheat on the High Plains was the introduction of Turkey wheat from Russia by Mennonite settlers of Kansas. This new hard red winter wheat, brought to Kansas in 1874, was more cold tolerant and drouth resistant than the soft red winter varieties grown previously. Coinciding with the introduction of hard red winter wheat was the development of the steel, roller-type, grinding wheels, which could grind the harder textured wheats. Railroads assisted in promoting the new type of wheat because it meant new businessfor them. The Santa Fe Railroad brought in and distributed 15,500 bushels of Turkey seed wheat to Texas growers in 1912. The Santa Fe also distributed Turkey seed wheat to settlers in Ochiltree, Hansford, and Lipscomb Counties in 1917. For centuries wheat was threshed by hand or with the flail (Figure 5A). Later horses or other animals were used to tramp out the grain (Figure 5B). Farm machinery devel- oped rapidly from 1850 to 1930. From the small threshers shown in Figure 5C, large custom machines driven by steam or oil were developed about 1900 (Figure 5D). The header, which cut off only the upper part of the plant and delivered it to a barge is shown in Figure 6A. From the header barge, the crop was threshed on a custom thresher (Figure 6B). Breaking the sod in Crosby County in 1912 with horse- drawn plows is ‘shown in Figure 6C. Soon larger plows and gang plows were designed for use with the large tractors then becoming available (Figure 6D). Combines were developed first in the Pacific Northwest but began influencing wheat cultures in the High Plains about 1922. Nall (83) states that 2,682 combines were 14 shipped into the High Plains in 1927. It was estimated that use of these machines reduced the amount of labor for production of wheat from 4.6 man-hours to 0.75 hour acre. Earth Magazine of April 1928 (50) shows photogru‘ of solid-trainloads of new combines coming into the Great Plains from Western Harvester Co., International-Harvester Co., Nicholos-Shepherd Co., and John Deere Co. (Figure 7A). World War I exerted a major influence on the increase of wheat acreage in the High Plains. The price of wheat went from 90 cents per bushel in 1914 to $2.71 during the war. When the United States entered the war, the government guaranteed a price of $2 per bushel, and appeals to grow wheat were published by state and federal agencies (Figure 7B) (Nall, 84). As the railroads had effectively compaigned to bring settlers to the area, they then attempted to establish per- manent agriculture. All employed agricultural agents, established farm magazines or information folders; several established demonstration farms along their lines where the growing crops could be shown to visitors. The Santa Fe ran special wheat trains throughout the Great Plains. Figure 7C shows an announcement of such a demonstration train. Several large-scale farm operators of the High Plains area influenced wheat production in that region. Hardy Campbell of Lincoln, Nebraska, known as an expert on dry- farming methods, established demonstration farms at Bovina and F arwell where he attempted to show farmers his methods of moisture conservation. The methods included cultivation of the fields with a special Campbell subsoiler and packer which was supposed to prevent moisture loss from the surface. A number of growers followed his plan for some years. However, he operated these farms only in 1905 and 1906, then left. Later, Campbell was employed by the city of Midland to establish an experimental farm and demonstrate crops that could be grown in that area. This enterprise also was a failure (Nall, 84). Hickman Price, an executive of Fox Movie News, leased 30,000 acres in Swisher, Castro, and Deaf Smith Counties in 1928 for large-scale wheat production. By attaching large gangs of plows and tillers to six tractors, he could plow 320 acres per day (Figure 6D). He purchased six large combines to harvest the large acreages. The drouths of the 1930’s, plus the depressed price of wheat, caused his operation to fail and disband (Nall, 84). - The operations of Charles William Post also influenced the establishment of crops on the High Plains. Eaves (49) describes Post’s dream city in Garza County where he pur- chased 250,000 acres of land, established the town of Post, built residences and business facilities, and established farms and irrigation systems. An experimental farm of 160 acres was established where wheat and other grain crops, fruits, and vegetables were tested from 1908 to 1926. Prices of wheat were lower after World War I, dropping to $1.09 in 1921 and continuing at a lower level. Drouth was severe in some areas in certain years, yet the High Plains continued crop expansion throughout the l920’s. Wheat acreage reached 3,381,000 by 1930 (Bonnen, 20). Ochiltree and Hansford Counties each grew 4 million bush- els of wheat in 1929. During the 1930’s, the wheat acreage Figure 6A: Harvesting wheat with a header near Plainview, , 1918. (Courtesy Leo Witkowski, Hereford, Texas.) O N G3 m Figure 6B: Threshing header-cut wheat from a header barge, Plainview, Texas, 1918. (Courtesy Leo Witkowski, Hereford, Texas.) Figure 6C: Breaking sod for seeding wheat at Crosbyton, Texas, in 1908. (Courtesy Spikes, 106.) Figure 6D: Large-scale drill machine used on the Hickman Price farms, Tulia, Texas, 1928. 15 Figure 7A: Trainload of Holt combines delivered to Amaril- lo, Texas, in 1926. (Santa Fe Railway Photo.) Figure 7B: Leaflet promoting wheat production for World War I food production. (Santa Fe Railway Photo.) s\ ll|l|t \\\\\\.\\\\\ =.\\I \ “Filly Million Bushels oi Wheat in 1918i! ” This Must Be the Battle- Cry of Texas This Year The United States in now at war with Germany-the greatest the worid has ever known. Ii rmany succeeds Great Britain and France, NOW DOING, she will overrun nud conquer the whole oi Europe, and we ALONE will have to iace Germany strengthened a hundrediold. Guns and ammunition our aliiea have in plenty, and ‘we shall soon he sending millions oi our men to strengthen their lighting lines, hut iood they lacL and tood they mast hve or their cause and our cause is at Fifty million bushels ia more than three timea the 1917 indi- ed wheat yield oi 14,700,000 hushels. but Texan ean raise iiity million in 1818. TEXAS MUST RAISE FIITY MILLION IN ma. “Give us Bread! Give ua Bread!" our allies are calling to us Shall we let them oaii in vai ‘i France, who sueeorred us in our Revolution; England, whoae iieet protected Admiral Dewey fro th rmans at Manila Bay in 1808i‘ Bhnii m eee i! same Taaaa he hehindhand in this mighty struggle ier civilintion and the iihertiea oi all mankind? NEVER! TEXAS WILL DO HER TY. FIFTY MILLION BUSHIILS 0F WHEAT IN 1918! REMEMBER the rape oi Belgium, the massacre oi the Lusi- tania, the slaughter of innoeeut women and children in ende- iended towns. the murder oi Edith Cavell, the revolting atro- cities in northern France, the sinking oi hospital ships, the hor- rible agouies by poison gas and liquid fire, the plotting against the integrity oi our own country all. the flagrant violations oi every law oi decency and civilisation that has been going on ior three years nnder the great German doctrine oi “light is light!” "Give us Bread! Give ue Bread!" our allies are calling. a cent ry. For fight. the flght oi democracy and oi the whole civilized And now we are in the fight. as President Wilson says, "To make the world safe ior democracy." What can ex- aa do heat to help win the war‘! Heed the call oi our allies, “Give us Bread! Give us Bread!" and answer it with Fifty Million Bushels 0f Wheat In 1918! WILLIITHERE BE A FAIR PROFIT IN WHEAT? Wheat is almost certain to sell at very high prices for more than two years. Even at the low average production of 15 bushels per acre this means an excel- lent profit, and there is very little land in Texas now under cultivation that with favorable weather conditions could not raise 25 bushels of wheat per acre if properly planted. THEREFORE, RAISE WHEAT FOR PATRIOT/SM AND PROFIT’ Texas Industrial Congress, and FlllilmLfili$FesdSqiysfl('aevshseCefiise. The Texas StateCouncil oi Defense Figure 7C: Leaflet announcing the Santa Fe Wheat Train. (Courtesy Earth Magazine.) Santa Fe Better Wheat Special In Texas, June 8-1.3, 1925 lfxzzizsz‘ the Auspiiies of the TiEZ-‘itifi A. M. (hixih-Fgzan tin.» f‘iiiiiiil\\‘tj'$it‘l‘ii “iitéiiii iinpz‘x;zx*eznemi skssiwtfzzinozi ‘and the §iéiiitzft lifl: i"{:=.il\\':i}‘ Rb Main Phases of the General Problem of Wheat Growing k . 4. . , . Discussed: ‘imiiszslzztiini of wits-zit to otlurr crcqie and Zivostucria. ‘3-~»I~”’repzar:-.at1ori of soil and reitathvn. f,~----I1“ure scent. Prssa>ntieal i115’ A: H,‘ Lizitiiglri, gkssistazai i)ir‘<.>ctor. Elx;>ez~izn<:~n1" Stiiiitflfl anal 4}» H. Pedmijazuis, Distrwxrt. Azzrnlt, A. it 3'1. ihilvgje. H, 3Y1. Bziirnfr, Uirtécltrst‘, Souitnvfestésrrz Viihcrat il'l'ifi‘{‘(;i\'t’i}l(’l'1i_:\$4?4(ii,'i;i(.i()!1_ J. i}. ‘.{‘i§::<.§€’£“¥;.'~1» of the “§§sf<,-t},’ First" W i: s.» :11 cam pzzigm zarr: z New". more zuzrtrs: in swiurezt but "more ‘ It" ‘(he LY?'4>V§’il'l;f of Wha-‘ztii - wzv.%nx1<;.> vthe:;i:. with feted . '§' {he am ozmi of rziinfzzii d i-l-‘w Nkiixze» but. the‘ will Zvunil" iili," {if}; "yr-t wnaxz" iikiilhiltif; as Reexrzzn m: {fiyiwiiftifi Cilflifkfi ANi} LWESTGCK {)§a-s.>rsi§ir:ri fihrmingg, 'i"i"-asz §';1i"1n»::‘r w“: §'<.<€,::.i>:-:~ 2'11‘.- 1.‘J;"z=*:tl_ ’Z’>"§f?? i211’? ».1"i'4.>l‘1-¢, iitz~i Eng of them tl:r'uu;:¥z ii‘~‘v>~‘t1>&'k, wish- lisiiirag ii $2.131": syxtvzii n? fattening. To iiiv<>2‘.~;ii'j_:. at lvzist ummglx to pru- iirurr: one glint} (‘Zifiiii amp like xvhczii. ziml pivxzty 1111' hated for li\‘i:£¥tu4"i{. will m4. tmiy bring: in good i'¢>t.1,i2 ._ but ‘xiii hxslp 4%,... tribute iubm‘ 21ml zismst mziivi'iz1ll3> in i<<_=i‘i>ii“»f-§ ‘tin? iaznl free €‘r:;»>1‘.\vt><~eir XViXtPi": grzwxwz My itml? a5 xvizzzrz it i»: iiéiriiitifwi in a mizitinz": ‘ix-iii: tizlorz‘ tin-lire. U21- liuiiiflvil mirzfzsii <.:<>iuiil§i»n.~:_ m; ¥‘:1r'nii*z’ can afihv- \ Y/\ r" T \\~i...1 % 61B 1' I LIPICX g ETLIY‘ CIOIIV €CII ML -—i WIILII - HARD RED WINTER-t mu nam- Ilunnut! “" I bu“, ——- —ri1s9b'-"1§’20 any I/ " Donn “m! mull I0A~5Q¢n| _SOFT RED: |W|NTER_____,_ I ‘ggf-I 1850-1890 l not! Joan "“'°'“‘_sr¢won l. Old Spanish I Russian Durums 1870-1900 7% PAIKII YA 1 ILITII _I|0_AnO CIOCICYY VAL VIQOQ hide? . SAN SABA ' IEIMMISSION "- I-—-1757' ‘Qglfl TAYL? (ALLAHAI IASYIK v0“ SUYTOII (WARD! l1 A 101011)‘ /l _ u‘ LT}. n‘ . CO l. u-uuu _ J an - - wAoA- _ “a f _ _ _‘ / I ' /<.o~u\_(s I LlVlCl / \' j man uvuot awn /- QMARYON (2.10... y/ I . li- I ., _\ 4 WILSON 4"", \A -\' , Northern Tr lAVALA I Jm"O~W/VAYIGOIDA\. Eastern IVI /'/>*\.(- GOuAo vlcwoal.‘ A Europe Ki -~ WIN... .... 1 | canoe n SAIA 4 D4904, ‘-r innit! i? !uuu.(~| L- 1731 i SPANISH vv_ n J .4 h! I ' 9. Ill! ouvu. lAnYA N066 ,_i_.. H EAT ,4.“ our ' /‘ r l SAN PQYIICIO ‘ | wccu _ i-Lzauo "“ Runooa-s-luzucov I gnu - - [ wmucv ,‘ montco CAIEIOI fr" 1830-1890 CAI ZAIIOY / / SOFT RED WINTER Midwest U.S. / Northeast U.S. Southeast U.S. French 1719 19 Figure 10A: Distribution (Bonnen, 20.) T£XA$ a "éli-iifik‘? ACR£AG£ i873 rvxaoa m; 3g; Figure 10C: Distribution of wheat in Texas in 1919. (Bonnen, 20.) Ti 3A5 ' WHKA?" ACREAGK if‘? i? WRKMBG AC. Yéffij} 20 of wheat in Texas ‘.§>x"~;s§*< I§;Er'§s:;.;’§§;:r=§§ §".>z£?s.~’z"駧n:~z"s! isifs~rié<>ffi Terrain Z&.§,r=§s::zitu.r-=a§ §iIX‘§?£§~Y§¥IYE§JIE:£R §§£zx.£§-i>i§ Figure 10B: Distribution of wheat in Texas in 1899.0 (Bonnen, 20.) “rams warm ACREAGE $8519 “amen Ac p; £3 Figure 10D: Distribution of wheat in Texas in 1975. (Courtesy Texas State Department of Agriculture, 113.) Texan Kxpnriunor Yamxiea &Q§uiuv§' at Cabana! i)» 4 ‘X ACRES PLANTED 7 dot == 1,000 acres WHEAT: Planting and harvesting activity by crop reporting districts, 1975 crop TABLE 1. WINTER WHEAT IN TEXAS ACREAGES—SEEDED AND HARVESTED, YIELD PER ACRE, PRODUCTION, AVERAGE P , VALUE BY S-YEAR PERIQDS, 1866-1975* I Seeded Harvested Yield per Production Average price Value of Year acreage acreage harvested acre bushels per bushel crop Thousand Thousand Thousand acres acres Bushels Thousands Dollars dollars 1866-1870 --- 77 6. 7 676 --- --- 1871—1875 --- 152 12.9 1,990 --- --- 1376-1330 343 9.1 3,215 1881-1885 --- 356 12.0 4, 241 --- --- 1336-1390 --- 329 10.3 3,444 --- --- 1391-1395 370 12.2 4,524 1896-1900 --- 735 14. 2 10, 792 --- --- 1901-1905 --- 855 9. 9 8, 776 --- --- 1906-1910 --- 539 10. 5 6, 149 --- --- 1911-1915 1, 103 1, 054 12. 8 13, 726 0.94 13, 155 1916-1920 1,913 1,497 11.3 18,203 1.93 36,016 1921-1925 1, 828 1, 437 10.2 10, 647 1.16 16, 670 ' 1920-1930 3,079 2,313 12.9 33, 732 1.05 34,252 1931-1935 4,701 2,947 9. 3 30, 105 0. 61 15, 105 1936-1940 4, 621 3, 252 9. 6 31, 443 .79 24,361 1941-1945 4,638 3,944 13.1 51, 132 1.24 65,354 1946-1950 6, 773 5, 544 1 1. 8 69, 562 1. 95 136, 989 1951-1955 5,024 2,500 9.9 25, 117 2.13 53,670 1956- 1960 3, 817 2, 894 17. 5 52, 632 1. 83 94, 823 1961-1965 4, 041 3, 1 19 19. 9 63, 065 1. 73 106, 432 1966- 1970 4, 483 3, 103 21. 7 66, 656 1.39 92, 225 1971-1975 4, 852 3, 179 22. 2 71,583 2. 64 210, 181 *Data courtesy Crop and Livestock Reporting Service (114). Figure ll, Texas Wheat Acreage, (Courtesy Texas State Department of Agriculture. H3). Thousand Acres 3 I zi 6 s1‘; N‘: :2 I . l. 1' 1 §'-. s = =1 I | ‘ 4 3'1, .. 1' l '1 '1 l‘. ,' I: '1, , l!" l l -". ." / a ,-:."-/‘. ,1! i .' ;;.;l_,~/ 1,1111. ; :1 1 .‘ '. I lll| Ii‘ | i, I g l ' H" '1; - ~ i! '1 ' "o v ‘K gill \o a "I 2 l l1 '~ 1' ‘.1 I l’ 5' l| I ,1 ' ' 1 l l n‘ 0 I I l 1366 1330 1395 1910 1925 1940 1955 1970 1935 ' Planted ————— harvested -------- -- 21 TABLE 2. ACREAGES OF WHEAT VARIETIES IN TEXAS, 1919-1944 Acreages Variety 1919 1924 1929 1934 1939 n Hard Red Winter Blackhull 397 391, 869 936, 846 1, 597, 707 1,007, 214 Cheyenne 354 67, 861 Chielkan 15, 066 254, 041 Comanche 12,413 Early Blackhull 20,303 130, 789 Kanred 41 1,803 588, 300 659, 854 235, 328 308,934 Red Chief 49,507 Tenmarq 8,107 261,538 1, 375,971 Triumph 221 Turkey 813, 200 570, 786 1,527, 123 2, 109, 177 1, 476,914 961, 772 TOTALS 813, 200 982,986 2, 507, 292 3, 713, 984 3, 607, 210 4,168, 723 Soft Red Winter Austin 6,054 Curre ll 124 5, 375 842 Denton 14,948 48,596 33,648 24,456 Fulcaster 43, 400 22, 690 14, 136 14, 046 9,966 4, 462 Fultz 22, 200 2, 688 2, 909 2, 078 7, 259 358 Harvest Queen 271 148 Jones Fife 429 1, 282 Mediterranean 1, 331, 900 195,050 293, 353 217, 058 211,504 198,598 Poole 300 Purplestraw 4, 200 120 Red May 7,000 2,694 2, 235 4, 188 4, 144 29,002 Russian Red 15,000 10, 735 Sonora 2,400 153 30 TOTALS 1, 426,400 223, 790 342, 721 285, 402 266, 067 262, 930 Spring Type Baart 400 26 M arquis 3, 100 13, 758 34, 326 5, 296 60 Preston 2, 696 7, 006 TOTALS 3, 500 16, 480 41, 332 5, 296 60 Durums Arnautha 14, 400 2, 1 12 7,951 6, 764 1,934 625 Kubanka 400 724 396 409 Mindum 2,527 223 Marouani 4, 691 All Others 26,000 18,255 41,781 19,121 24,322 17,350 TOTALS 40, 800 21, 091 49, 732 28, 808 27, 582 17, 975 Others-All Classes 117,479 62, 742 28,454 46,987 17,593 GRAND TOTAL 2,401,379 1,311,776 2,969,511 4,087,000 3,919,000 4, 450,000 Percent - HRW 33.9 78. 6 85.1 92. 0 92.5 . 93. 7 SRW 64.4 17.9 11.8 7.1 6.8 5.9 Spring 1. 3 1. 4 0.1 Durum 1.7 2.1 1. 7 0.7 0. 7 0.4 22 ' other settlements. This may explain in part why wheat d" ot become established as a crop as these are neither e resistant nor cold tolerant in South or Central Texas, although they probably grew well in the dry climate of El Paso. Sonora wheat was included in the Dallas Fair exhibits as late as 1896 (43), and the 1919 wheat survey recorded 2,400 acres of Sonora wheat grown in Texas. Several farm magazines mention California wheat, and in the 1867 Texas Almanac mentions that “California wheat is late and rusts badly” (110). Smithwick (104), on a trip to California in 1861, visited El Paso and reported that the Pima Indians “brought to our camp the whitest, cleanest wheat I have ever seen.” Sonnichen (105) records the occurrence of an unusual type of wheat observed by James O. Pattie, who visited El Paso in 1826. Mr. Pattie states, “I was struck by the beauti- ful vineyards and wheat fields. The wheat is of a kind I have never seen before as the stalks usually yield two heads each.” Whether this was club or poulard-type under unusual conditions cannot now be determined. Some of the problems farmers had in growing wheat in Central Texas (see page 6) probably resulted from use of varieties not adapted to the area. According to the Austin American of 1883, “wheat does not grow one year out of five” (Barkley, 12). The Farm and Ranch of July 1892 quotes H. B. Hillyer, “Wheat from the North and East will do fine for a few years but soon runs out. Growers have to resort to new varieties and import new seed.” What were the varieties available for immigrants to bring to Texas? Red Lamas, the prototype of Red May, was grown in England before 1700 and in America before the Revolutionary War. Red Chaff, (also call Goldcoin) dates back to 1798; Mediterranean was brought from Italy about 1819; Purplestraw was grown in the Southeast as early as 1822; and Zimmerman originated in Maryland about 1837 (Rentz, 97). Soft Red Winter Wheats Little Red May was the first variety of wheat grown in North Central Texas according to the 1904 Texas Almanac (110). It was grown in Collin and Greyson Counties as early as the l830’s. Apparently it was an important variety until after 1900. The 1919 wheat survey reported 7,000 acres of Red May in Texas. Jenske5 of Fredricksburg, recalled in 1949 (he was then 84 years old) some facts about wheat when he was a boy. Mr. Jenske stated that his father went to Dallas every fall to get new seed of Red May for the fall planting. The Mediterranean variety did not come into that area until after the Civil War. Mediterranean Era Although introduced in 1819, Mediterranean wheat did .not become important in Texas until after the Civil War. From 1875 to 1925, it dominated the acreage in Texas. An editorial in the Farm and Ranch of August 1907 (51), states, “Most farmers have settled down to the conclusion that Mediterranean is the best variety we can plant.” 5 Personal interview with John N. Jenske, Fredricksburg, ‘exas, 1949. Mediterranean has been grown under many synonyms, i.e., Bluestem, Missouri Bluestem, Lancaster Red, Acme, Red Chaff, Swamp, Mortgage Lifter, and others (Clarke, 34). Even in the drier parts of the State, Mediterranean gave good yields. Youngblood (124) reported that 120 acres on the farm of a Mr. Latham, Dalhart, averaged 18 bushels per acre in 1908. John Specht, Iowa Park, grew Italian Red Wonder (probably Mediterranean) wheat in 1886, and it yielded twice as much as his other wheat (51). Apparently Mediterranean wheat served the needs of the milling trade of this period. Millers’, in a convention in Dallas in 1886, said that Mediterranean was the best milling wheat (51). The Alliance Mill of Denton, Texas won first prize for the best flour exhibited at the Dallas Fair from 1886 to 1896, the St. Louis Fair in 1895 and 1896, and the Paris Exposition of 1900 and 1904.6 The Krum Mill, Krum (Denton County), won a blue ribbon at the Chicago World’s Fair of 1904 and honorable mention at the Paris Exposition of 1910 (Davis, 45). The first wheat variety survey in 1919 showed Mediter- ranean grown on 1,331,900 acres or 55 percent of the Texas acreage (Table 1). However, by 1934, the acreage had declined to 195,250 acres as hard red winter wheat replaced the soft Wheats in the Rolling and High Plains areas. By 1954, the Mediterranean acreage was down to 1.452 acres, but a few fields can still be found in Texas (USDA, 117). Other Soft Wheats Fultz and Fulcaster were the only other varieties grown extensively in Texas. Fultz was a beardless selection from Lancaster (Mediterranean) made by a Mr. Abraham Fultz in 1862 in Miffin County, Pennsylvania. Futlz was grown under synonyms of Jersey Fultz, White Pearl, Bluestem Fultz, and Bluestem (Clarke, 34). The U. S. Department of Agriculture increased and distributed seed in 1874, some being obtained by the Cat Spring Agricultural Society at Cat Spring, Texas. Fultz was grown extensively in the eastern states with 4,800,000 acres recorded in 1919. An estimated 22,200 acres were grown in Texas in 1919 (117). Fulcaster was developed from a cross of Fultz x Lancas- ter. The variety was developed by S. M. Schindel, Hagers- town, Maryland, and released in 1886. In 1919 it occupied 2,576,000 acres in the United States and 43,000 acres in Texas. By 1944, the Texas acreage had declined to 4,460 acres. On the basis of comments in the press, it is believed that the Fulcaster occupied considerable acreage in Central Texas about 1900. Fulcaster was grown under many synonyms—Swamp, Acme, Bluestem, Bearded Bluestem, Bearded Purplestraw, Valley, Dietz, Dietz Longberry, Egyptian Amber, Golden Chaff, Ironclad, Lancaster, Red Wonder, Stoner, Miracle, Mortgage Lifter, Tuscan, and others. Purplestraw wheat was grown in the Southeast as early as 1822 but was not extensively grown in Texas. The 1919 survey showed‘ only 2,400 acres and that of 1924 only 120 acres. Synonyms for Purplestraw were Alabama Bluestem, Georgia Bluestem, Early Purplestraw, and others. 6 Information in the files 0f the Morrison Milling Company, Denton, Texas, the successor t0 Alliance Milling Company. 23 TABLE 3. ACREAGES OF WHEAT VARIETIES IN TEXAS, 1949-1974 Acreages Variety 1949 1954 1959 1964 1909 Q‘ Hard Red Winter Agent 84,000 Apache 3, 872 84, 651 Aztec 6,948 Bison 6, 046 44, 387 14, 762 22, 400 Blackhull 523, 020 133, 100 36, 864 548 2, 433 5, 600 Blue Jacket 4,800 261,360 762 Caddo 5, 133 419, 894 519,700 Caprock 84,000 Centurk 95,000 Cheyenne 43, 200 21 , 780 12, 259 2, 345 Comanche 873, 120 51 1, 104 373,963 90, 562 47, 125 22,400 C hiefkan 72, 720 74, 536 5, 957 Concho 521, 249 380, 204 333, 622 319, 500 Crockett 337, 990 300, 092 149, 135 89,600 Daane 5,600 Early Blackhull 668,090 84,216 Fox 5,000’ Funk-W332 11,200 Cage 2,234 Kaw 304, 945 1 19, 440 56, 200 Kanred 96, 980 16, 456 3, 004 Kan Queen 21,296 Kiowa 23, 716 34, 080 1 1 , 289 3, 986 Kanking 15,004 Nebred 4, 800 2, 904 Palo Duro 364,100 Pawnee 175, 450 22, 264 3, 756 Ponca 23,696 11, 113 14,941 Quanah 68, 728 135, 757 98, 864 18, 678 Red Chief 68,680 157,300 6,922 8,207 Red Iacket 9, 196 Scout 205,850 291,400 Scout 66 12,021 178,000 Scoutland 5,600 Sturdy 277, 828 892, 300 Tascosa 1,043 467,059 518,673 584,200 Triumph 1,321,040 829,092 1,300,572 475,619 405,957 318,600 Triumph, Improved 755,814 561,427 443,400 Triumph, Imp. New 148,228 87,359 39,200 Triumph, Super 136,601 48,821 Triumph, Rosita 11,754 20,620 12,004 28,000 Triumph, 64 29,907 7,067 Tenmarq 584, 490 98, 252 92, 044 10, 748 1 , 633 Turkey 107,990 27,588 16,659 746 TAMU - W101 ' 72,800 Warrior 994 3,765 Westar 2,004, 170 968,484 287, 852 12,017 5,067 Wichita 605,540 1,273,888 724,888 498,005 348,311 384,200 Yukon 56,000 TOTAL HRW 7, 157,090 4,624, 136 4,030,542 3, 804,618 3, 640, 755 4,978,400 24 l Table 3. Acreages of wheat varieties in Texas, 1949-1974 (Continued) Acreages 1949 1954 1959 1964 1969 1974 Soft Red Winter Arthur 28,000 Austin 209,000 Atlas 66 4, 118 593 7, 842 Ben Hur 473 5,600 Blackhawk 2, 420 Denton 572 Frisco 6,006 1,731 F ulcaster 968 Coker 47-27 4,840 Coker 68-15 5,600 Clarkan 2,901 Knox 1 18, 168 120, 493 142, 589 106, 300 Knox 62 10,249 51,123 44,700 Monon 13,606 2,051 Mediterranean 204, 700 84,700 45, 831 7, 665 144 Red May 19,060 1,452 Riley 3,034 Riley 67 388 Vermillion 2,909 Vigo 968 TOTAL 433, 332 98, 249 176, 543 157, 246 207, 644 190, 200 Spring Wheat Ceres 13,552 Chaparrel 22,400 Milam 7, 150 107, 010 100, 700 Nadadores 16,800 Penjamo 62 14,903 61,600 Seabreeze 6,750 2,420 2,002 3,221 TOTAL 6, 750 15,972 9, 152 126, 348 201,500 Durum Kubanka 5, 324 162 Nugget 593 135 Stewart 8,224 Unlisted variety 24,600 TOTAL 24, 600 13, 552 755 135 All Others 77,418 87,604 81,284 28,329 140,318 124,400 TOTALS 7, 697, 000 4, 840, 000 4, 287,000 4, 002, 000 4, 124, 0()0 5, 600, 000 Percent HRW 92.9 95.5 94.0 95.1 88. 3 88.9 SRW 5.6 2.0 4.1 3.9 5.0 4.0 Spring 0.1 0. 3 3.1 3.6 Durum 0.3 0.3 25 Goldcoin was an important variety in the Eastern states at this time. It was grown also as Clawson, Niagara, Ameri- can Banner, White Russian, and Winter King. It was in- cluded in most early wheat tests and listed in many farm papers. Among other varieties advertised in the farm press around 1900 were Sibley’s New Golden, Poole, Fultz, Fulcaster, Fultz-Mediterranean, and Mediterranean. The first wheat trials by the Texas Agricultural Exper- iment Station conducted on farms at McGregor and Wichita Falls included 230 varieties and samples of wheat from Eastern states and the U. S. Department of Agriculture. The Substation at Denton was established in 1911 and immedi- ately began testing many of the varieties listed in previous pages.7 Seed of some of these probably were made available to growers for commercial production. Charles Richardson, a settler at Henderson, tested the varieties Harris White, Cumby White, Phillips Red, Tappa- hannock, and Red May in 1865 (May, 75). Wheat from Algeria, Arabia, Egypt, and St. Helena was tested at New Braunfels in 1849 (Olmstead, 87). Jordan (70) reported that a farmer at F redricksburg grew 110 varieties of wheat in 1859; the varieties tested are not known. The Cat Spring Agricultural Society tested Polish wheat in 1858, Tuscan (Fulcaster) in 1858, Touzelle from France in 1869, Shoe- maker in 1876, and Fultz in 1876 (30). H. A. Holbert, Coleman, reported (51) growing Prosperi- ty (American Bronze) and Millers Pride (Mediterranean) in 1903. Russian Red or Red Russian (similar to Poole) was grown on 15,000 acres in 1919 (51). Modern Soft Wheats Because Mediterranean was the popular variety of Cen- tral Texas, efforts to improve it were begun by the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station about 1930. The variety Austin, a leaf and stem rust resistant Mediterranean type, was released in 1936. It was grown on an estimated 500,000 acres by 1945 and was recorded on 200,000 acres in 1949. Acreage declined soon after 1949 because of the presence of new races of rust that could attack it. Cooperation between the Texas and Purdue Agricultural Experiment Stations, starting in 1948, provided several new soft wheat varieties for Texas growers. Knox (112), Ver- million, and Monon were released jointly and proved un- usually well adapted in the Sherman-Dallas area. The acre- age of Knox reached 150,000 acres in 1954 and remained at approximately this level until 1970. Knox 62 was re- leased to replace Knox, and more recently the Purdue vari- eties Arthur, Arthur 71, Abe, and Oasis were grown on a substantial acreage in North Central Texas. Since 1974, Coker 68-15, developed by the Coker Pedigree Seed Company, Hartsville, South Carolina, has been distributed in North Texas. Because of its high grain yield, semi-dwarf plant stature, and good forage characteris- tics, it has largely replaced the taller Purdue strains. Esti- mates of the acreages of these varieties were not yet availa- ble in 1978. 7 Unpublished data in annual reports 0f the Texas Sub- station N0. 6, Denton, for 1911 and otheryears. 26 Hard Red Winter Wheats Turkey Era Probably no other event is of greater agricultural impor-l ' tance in the Midwest and Southwest than the introduction of Turkey wheat by the Mennonite settlers of Kansas about 1874 (Quisenberry, 93). Previous to this time, the growing of wheat was hazardous because neither the soft red winter wheat nor the spring wheat varieties were truly well adapted to these areas where drouth and winterkilling were of major significance. As pointed out earlier, Ross (101) questioned the advisability of growing small grains at Amarillo as late as 1916. The movement of Turkey wheat from Kansas into the High Plains must have occurred largely through immigrants moving to Texas or personal contacts of growers because there is little news media reference to Turkey wheat until considerably after 1900. A few references predate this time. The Farm and Ranch of October 1900 and October 1901 (51) contains advertisements of seed of Turkey wheat. In 1901, J. R. Ratekin Seed Co., Shenandoah, Iowa, advertised a shipment of 10 carloads of Turkey wheat to Dallas for reshipment to other points. The David Hardy Seed Company and the Texas Seed and Floral Company, both of Dallas, also offered seed of Turkey wheat at about this time. Turkey wheat was included in the first Experiment Sta- tion tests at Amarillo in 1906 (Ross, 100) and at Texas Substation No. 6, Denton, in 1911. Records of the Den- ton Substation show that Turkey seed wheat was sold to E. C. Buell, Roanoke, in 1911. A few growers ordered seed directly from more nothern areas where the variety was known. An item in the Farm and Ranch of March 1902 (51) stated that M. C. Woods, Montague, was ordering seed of Turkey wheat. Judge L. Goeth (52), superintendent of the Tennessee Corporation farms at Crosbyton, Texas, wrote the owners in 1911, “We sent to North Platte, Nebraska for 10 bushels of Turkey Red wheat seed.” After the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station released Kanred wheat in 1917, the Farm and Ranlch (51) of Octo- ber 1920 reported that Edgar A. Kemp of Young County had ordered two carloads of Kanred wheat from Kansas because “it yielded twice as much as Fulcaster.” Although 57 percent of the Texas acreage in 1919 was seeded to Mediterranean and other soft wheat varieties, by 1929, only 26 percent of the acreage was sown to soft wheats, and the hard red winter varieties occupied 74 per- cent. After the 1940’s, soft wheat varieties were grown on only about 8 percent of the acreage and this all in North Central Texas. Very small acreages of spring and durum varieties were grown until the 1960’s, when the Mexican semi-dwarf varieties were introduced. Small acreages of Turkey, Kanred, and Cheyenne were found until about 1960. Practically all have been replaced by varieties devel- oped in State and Federal plant breeding programs. Blackhull Era A selection from Turkey, but with different plant and quality characteristics, was developed by Earl G. Clark, Sedgwick, Kansas, This selection, named Blackhull, was increased from a single plant found in 1912 and released in 1917 (Call, 25). Because of its good storm resistance and hi est weight, it immediately became popular and spread , out the Southwest. From its release in 1917, Black- lull acreage increased to 391,869 in 1929 and 1,597,000 acres in 1939. Mr. Clark later developed from Blackhull crosses the varieties Chielkan, Superhard Blackhull, Kan- hull, RedChief, Chief, New Chief, Bluelacket, RedJacket, KanKing, and the soft wheat varieties Clarkan, Moking, and Kanqueen. An early maturing strain of Blackhull, Early Blackhull, was developed by A. P. Haeberle, Cold Water, Kansas. The Blackhull group of varieties occupied very large acreages in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas until the mid- 1950’s. Because their quality was so different from that needed, the milling and baking trade was able to have them placed on a discount basis about 1945, and the acreage soon declined. Tenmarq, Comanche, Westar, and Wichita Group Plant breeding efforts in Texas and other Southwestern ‘states from 1925 to 1940 resulted in the release of new varieties which began to take over the acreage of Turkey. Tenmarq was released in Kansas in 1928 and in Texas in 1934. It was widely adapted, and acreage increased to 1,375,000 acres by 1944 (Table 2). It continued to be an important variety until about 1960. Comanche and Wichita were developed and realeased jointly by the Kansas, Okla- homa, and Texas Agricultural Experiment Stations in 1939, and both continued to occupy large acreages until the 1950’s. Comanche acreage reached its maximum, 873,120 acres, in 1949, and Wichita reached its maximum acreage of 1,273,880 in 1954. Westar was developed by the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station and released in 1942. It immediately became popular, being grown on more than 2 million acres in Texas in 1949 and in eight other states. It continued to an important variety until about 1964. All varieties of this group were of excellent milling and baking quality, so they found favor with wheat processors. Mid-Early Group Building on the favorable characteristics of Tenmarq, Comanche, and Blackhull wheats, research efforts from 1935 to 1955 achieved major improvements in new wheat varieties for Texas in the release of Quanah, Crockett, Caddo, and Tascosa. Quanah was the first hard red winter wheat ever released in the Southwest which possessed a high degree of resistance and tolerance to the diseases prevalent in Central Texas. Since its range of adaptation was rather limited, the maximum acreage reached was only 135,757. Caddo, Crockett, and Tascosa characteristics combined the high test weight, the storm resistance of the Blackhull wheats, and the desirable milling and baking characteristics of the Turkey-derived varieties. At the time of their release, “tchey included considerable leaf rust resistance. The rockett acreage reached 300,000 in 1959 and continued in this general range until the 1970’s. Caddo and Tascosa were grown on approximately one-half million acres after 1964. Because of Tascosa’s excellent storm resistance, it was very \0>opular in the irrigated wheat growing areas from Amarillo to Lubbock (Figures 13A and B). ‘ Kaw, developed in Kansas, and Concho, developed in Oklahoma, were mid-season varieties which occupied significant acreages in Texas during this same period, 1955 to 1965 (Table 2). Early Maturing Group Joe Daane, a private plant breeder of El Reno, Okla- homa, developed several early maturing strains of wheat during the period of 1940 to 1960. Their earliness permit- ted them to escape many diseases, and they produced good yields. One of these was Triumph which increased from only 221 acres in the 1944 variety survey to more than 1 million acres in 1949. Acreage of Triumph and Triumph derivatives continued large until the mid-60’s. Selections or derivatives of Triumph released by Mr. Daane included Improved Triumph, Newest Improved Triumph, Super Triumph, Triumph 64, Sunbeam Triumph, and Orienta. After his death, his material was deeded to the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station which released the varieties Daane and Nicoma. More than 2 million acres of the Triumph strains were grown in Texas for many years but have been replaced by the Texas semi-dwarf varieties to some extent. Semi-Dwarf Revolution Sturdy, Caprock, TAM W-101, and TAM W-103 were the first semi-dwarf hard red winter wheats developed in the United States. The spectacular increase in the acreages of these varieties from 1967 to 1976 is shown in Table 1 and graphically in Figure 12. The short stature, strong straw, and resistance to shattering made possible the practical utilization of high increments of fertilizer and irrigation water to produce maximum yields. Two commercial fields exceeded 100 bushels per acre and yields of 70 to 90 bushels were not uncommon. These new varieties were used extensively in plant breed- ing programs of commercial firms and state institutions, especially in the research on development of hybrid wheat. A field of Sturdy alongside a field of the tall variety Caddo is shown in Figure 13C. The strong, short straw of Sturdy is shown by Earl C. Gilmore (Figure 13D), wheat research leader. Spring-Type Bread Wheats Until the advent of the Mexican semi-dwarf varieties, spring wheat was not an established crop in Texas. Small acreages were seeded from time to time, but usually in emergencies. An estimated 3,100 acres of Marquis and 400 acres of Baart were recorded in the 1919 survey and 34,326 acres of Marquis were recorded in 1929. The Texas Agricultural Experiment Station developed and released the spring-type variety Seabreeze for the Coastal Bend area of Texas where 6,750 acres were grown in 1954. However, the variety never became well esta- blished. Milam, an intermediate winter-spring type, was released in 1959 and was recorded on 100,000 acres in both 1969 and 1974 (Table 4). Milam’s good forage characteris- tics, as well as grain yields, made it a useful variety. Growers began bringing in the Mexican semi-dwarf spring varieties about 1960. Although not adapted to winter pasture uses, they produced good grain yields from mid-winter seeding. Wheat acreage restrictions were re- 27 Figure 12. Acreages of Texas Semi-dwarf and High Test Weight Wheat Varieties in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas, 1959-76 2,000,000 1,750,000 1,500,000 1,250,000 1,000,000 750,000 500,000 V 250,000 1974 1959 1964 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1976 - Oklahoma - Sturdy - Caprock - TAM W-101-—— - '- Kansas - Sturdy - Caprock - TAM W-101__ -- __. Ouanah - Crockett - Caddo - Tascosa - Texas Texas - Sturdv - Caprock - TAM W-101 TABLE 4. OFFICIAL AND PRIVATE ESTIMATES OF ACREAGES OF TEXAS SEMI-DWARF AND HIGH TEST WEIGHT WHEAT VARIETIES, 1959-76 Variety 1959 1964 1969 1979 1971 1972 1973 1974 1976 Texas Sturdy 277, 828 359, 999* 1389, 999* 425, 999* 498, 999* 892, 399 1, 299, 999* Caprock 84, 000 220, 000* TAM -W191 84, 999 699, 999* TaSCOSa 1 , 943 467, 999 518, 673 636, 943* 799, 999* 739, 999* 625, 999* 584, 399 499, 999* Caddo 5, 123 419, 894 446, 699* 469, 999* 475, 999* 499, 999* 519, 799 299,999* Crockett 337, 999 399,999 149, 135 185, 799* 159, 999* 149, 999* 199, 999* 89,699* 59, 999* Quanah 135, 757 98, 864 16, 599 52, 999* 49, 999* 49, 999* 29, 999* M ilam 7, 554 197, 999 53, 799* 69, 999* 75, 999* 99, 999 199, 799 29, 999* Oklahoma Sturdy 212, 999 385, 259 483, 574 396, 999 448, 899 498, 999 Caprock 62,708 102,000 183,000 220,000 ' TAM-W191 ‘ 179, 899 692, 799 Kansas Sturdy 6, 789 47, 489 1 1 1 , 999 196, 999 1 89, 999 248 999 TAM-W101 *Unofficial estimate. 28 \ Figure 13A: The acreage of irrigated wheat increased Figure 13B: Strong-strawed, hail resistant Tascosa wheat dramatically from 1945 t0 1960. A field of irrigated near Bushland, Texas, 1964. Tascosa wheat near Dimmit, Texas, 1958. Figure 13C: New semi-dwarf variety Sturdy compared to Figure 13D: Earl C. Gihnore demonstrating the short sta- tall variety, Caddo, near Wichita Falls, Texas, 1969. ture and strong straw of new semi-dwarf variety Sturdy. moved about this time. As a result of these changes, spring wheat increased from only a few thousand acres before 1960 to 770,000 acres in South and Southwest Texas in 1975. The winter-type varieties Sturdy, Caprock, Coker 68- 15, and a few others, grown for winter pasture as well as grain, are included in this total. During seasons of favorable spring rainfall or when winter killing of the small grains occurs, spring wheat may be sown on the High Plains to a limited extent but usually is not practical. Durum Wheats The durum or macaroni wheats have been grown in Texas since Colonial days. Reference was made earlier to a “Turkish wheat, which was different” grown at Pana Maria in 1857 and to the wheats grown “from Algeria, Egypt and Arabia” as reported at New Braunfels by Olm- stead (87). These probably were durum, but they did not become established. The Farm and Ranch of January 1898 reports that J. L. Burgess of Hill County received durum wheat from the Patent Office in 1857. Most of the early references to durum wheat call it Nicaragua durum, which Clark (34) states is the same as Arnautka and was brought from Russia in 1864. Much of the early interest in durum wheat stems from the poor adaptation of soft red winter and spring bread wheats in the Miswest as it was settled. The U. S. Department of Agriculture sent Mark A. Carleton to Russia in 1898 to find new drouth resistant, disease resistant and cold tolerant wheat varieties. In 1901, the Department imported 800 bushels of Kubanka durum and smaller amounts of several other varieties and types. By 1907, an estimated 4.5 million acres of durum wheat were grown in the United States. Tests of Kubanka durum and other wheats from Russia, Algeria, and Turkestan were made cooperatively by the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, the U. S. Depart- ment of Agriculture, and the Farm and Ranch Magazine on 200 farms in Texas in 1903. Carleton traveled in Texas and spoke to the Farm Congress at Texas A&M University about the results of these tests. The Farm and Ranch of July 1904 (51) reported that, according to A. J. Schultz, Iowa Park, macaroni wheat yielded more than his common wheat and could be seeded either fall or spring. Also, a Mr. Tull, McClennan County, wrote, “Medeah durum can be successfully grown both here and in Castro County.” The early experimental tests at Amarillo and at Denton included Medean, Velvet Don, Nicaragua, Kubanka, and Saragella durums. Apparently by 1906, there was sufficient durum grown that the milling trade began to oppose growing it. The Farm and Ranch, July 1907 (51), reports “Mills have now universally rejected it.” The Farm and Ranch, July 1907 (51), reportedi-that the Hartley Grain Company had on hand several carloads of durum wheat, which they could not sell. Also, the November 1909 issue reported that E. F. Farmer, Haskell, had grown durum wheat successfully for 6 years but that “no mill will grind it.” These factors appar- ently caused the abandonment of the growing of durum wheat in Texas. 30 Emmer, Spelt, and Poulard Wheats According to older citizens of South Texas, E (colloquially called Speltz) was grown as a windbreak. n _ vegetable fields from San Antonio south as long as they can remember. Whether this seed was brought in by the early Belgium, Flemish, or German farmers cannot now be determined. Emmer, a durum-type wheat, on which the outer glumes do not thresh free (covered seed) and a true spelt, a 21 chromosome wheat, also with covered seed, grown for feed in Europe, were both tested in the first cereal experiments at Amarillo and at the Denton Substa- tion starting in 1911. Ross (100) reported in 1916 that Black Winter Emmer had averaged 16.9 bushels per acre in dry-land tests. The Farm and Ranch, April 1902 (51), has an editorial promoting the use of Emmer as a feed grain. Small fields of Emmer may still be found on dry, rocky hillsides in the Edwards Plateau and in vegetable fields of South Texas. Poulard is a durum-type wheat with branched heads, which is sometimes exploited by farmers or seedsmen because its large spikes appear to indicate high yields. The Farm and Ranch, October 1911 (51), quotes A. M. Dougherty, Denton, that his “Egyptian wheat made a second growth after cutting and looked like broomcorn.” Under most conditions Poulard has not been grown success- fully. Varieties of wheat grown on Texas farms changed constantly through the years as growers introduced and tested new ones, and plant breeders made improved varie- ties available. New or different varieties were means of combating disease and adapting to local conditions. The acreages of major variety types grown from 1919 to 1949 are shown in Figure 14 and from 1949 to 1976 in Figure 15 (USDA, 117). (The data for 1976 are based on private estimates.) Although soft wheat varieties were grown on the majori- ty of the Texas acreage in 1919, this changed quickly to the hard red winter wheat varieties when they became available. Turkey strains, and later Blackhull strains, domin- ated the acreage from 1924 to 1945. Varieties bred from selections or hybrids such as Tenmarq, Comanche, Wichita, and Triumph, occupied increasing acreages in 1934 and thereafter. Westar dominated the Texas acreage from 1947 to 1954, and the Triumph strains made up a dominant portion of the acreage from 1947 to the 1960’s. New high test weight, high quality, and high yielding varieties bred by the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, i.e., Quanah, Crockett, Caddo and Tascosa, were the major varieties from 1959 to 1975. The development of the semi-dwarf, together with wider use of fertilizer and irrigation water, influenced the rapid shift to these new short wheats starting in 1970. By 1976, they were the most widely planted varieties and continued to spread in Texas and into Oklahoma and Kansas after that time. HAZARDS OF WHEAT PRODUCTION IN TEXAS Wheat production in Texas may be subject to a number of hazards of major significance~locally or even statewidi Figure 14. Texas Acreages of Variety Groups, 1919-49 wThousands 2000 1750 X 1500 /\ ,/' \ '/ _/ \\ / 1250 \ y . \ ./ \ / / 1000 — \ f \ / /' . .... \ ' - 750 \ j 500 - \\ / -/ / I \ / .- 250 — \ ’ ____“““""~ _ // i-l-ii l ("'1 |-" /| I 1919 1924 1929 1934 1939 1944 1949 Tenmarq-Comanche ---- Blackhull Strains -—— Soft Wheat Varieties - _ _. Triumph Strains - - - - - -- Turkey Strains H-o-o-o-o-oa-o Westar . Wichita _ _ 1 Figure 15. Texas Acreages of Variety Groups, 1949-76 AcreslThousands 2000 \ .. 1750 \ \ \ . 1500 — \. \ ‘. _ \ \ _.". .. /_ a y \§ / T“ ~___ 1250 \ . _ \ /' '- 1000 — \ ' ' - /\ \\,\ // \ ' 750 - / \ \\/ _ \ // .\ -. 500 - / \_ - / 04' ' " / \ _.§¢\Q“' §'§. “Ill §/++v+\*‘* \. 44, / § . ' jfiiununnnnr \ \ 250 '- * l l .'.‘ ’ I * I 1949 1954 1959 1964 1969 1974 1976 Semi-dwarfs - Sturdy - Caprock - TAM W-101 - TAM W-103 44-0-0444 Blackhull Strains - — u- Triumph Strains - - - - - -- -- Westar Turkey Strains l ll I ll Wichita Tenmarq - Comanche —-- — - Other Varieties -- + 4- + ‘ Quanah - Caddo - Crockett - Tascosa-— —— 31 in some seasons. Frequency of occurrence of some of these hazards at four locations is given in Table 5. Table 5. Number of crop seasons in which certain major hazards influenced wheat production in Texas, 1932-63 (Atkins, 8). Greenbugs Leaf Stem Fall rust Location 1 rust rust infection Septoria Amarillo 9 5 3 7 2 Chillicothe 4 1 1 2 3 5 Denton 6 17 8 7 5 College Station 2 15 13 3 1 Fall Spring Excessive Winter Spring drouth drouth rainfall killing freeze Amarillo 15 15 0 3 5 Chillicothe 5 5 1 1 3 Denton 6 3 5 2 3 College Station 1 3 8 0 1 Insects Insects frequently become serious hazards of production as soon as a crop is seeded on large acreages. There were no means of controlling insects in the early periods. Grass- hoppers apparently attacked many crops of the early set- tlers. They ate all the wheat in Williamson County in 1848, 1856, and 1858 (Scarbrough, 103). Clark (36) quotes the Northern Standard that the 1854 and 1855 wheat crops of Denton County were destroyed by grasshoppers. At Fort Belnap in 1858, “The grasshoppers passed Fort Chadborne for three days as dense as a snow storm” (Johnson, 69). More recently, grasshoppers were serious hazards in the drouth years of the 1930’s and the 1950’s. Aphid species attack small grains at several stages of growth and can cause serious losses. One species, the “greenbug,” may be especially damaging because of its ability to reproduce during cool weather when predators and parasites are not active. Greenbugs (Figure 16A) may destroy small areas of a field, large fields, or even large production areas. Until very recently, no effective econo- mical measures of control were available. Extensive outbreaks of greenbugs occurred in Texas in 1901, 1916, 1942, 1951, with less extensive outbreaks in several other years (Atkins, 5). The 1901 infestation extended from McClennan County northward into Missouri. The 1907 infestation covered a similar area and destroyed an estimated 50 million bushels of grain. The 1942 infestation destroyed small grain from Central Texas to Central Oklahoma, with an estimated loss of 61 million bushels of grain valued at $81 million. Several other species of aphids cause less spectacular damage to grain. Spider mitesQ-of several species may damage wheat. The brown wheat mite is a pest in the drier parts of the state and the winter grain mite in the more humid areas. The Tulip mite, a microscopic species, transmits the virus causing wheat streak mosaic. Rotation and killing of volunteer plants are effective measures in the control of mites. 32 Chinch bugs, army worms, and soil insects are among other insects which may cause serious damage to wheii? Diseases - As with insects, diseases become increasingly important as a crop is grown on large acreages. The diseases most frequently mentioned in literature are the rusts and smuts. The major leaf diseases of wheat are shown in Figure 16B and described in detail by Atkins and Futrell (6). Rusts apparently became important as soon as settlers began growing wheat in North Central Texas. The 1869 Texas Almanac (110) printed a long article on rust, por- tions of which follow: Rust is the dreaded disease of the wheat crop in North Texas. This is a parasitical growth, which appears in the form of a red dust on the leaves and later on the straw. . . . The rust stops circulation of nutrition of the crop. . . . The consequence is that the grain shrinks and ripens early. If the crop is attacked early, a complete failure will result but usually it produces a short crop. The Cat Spring Agricultural Society abandoned testing of wheat after 20 years because the crop was so frequently damaged by rust (Jordan, 70). The Farm and Ranch, June 1887 (51) quotes a Mr. Kilpatrick, Collin County, “Wheat was destroyed by the root blight or something of this na- ture. The roots turn black, the leaf rusts and the grain fails to fill. Thousands of acres will not be worth harvesting.” Major epidemics of rust occurred in 1935, 1949, and 1957 (Table 6) (Atkins and Futrell, 6). Although these losses are above normal, some damage occurs nearly every year. Figure 16D shows a field of Mediterranean wheat destroyed by rusts at College Station in 1957. Stripe, a cool season rust, was observed doing damage in 1942, 1949, and 1958. There are no effective, economical fungicides for the control of leaf diseases of wheat. Although research in this field is extensive, at present the only practical control is to grow a disease resistant variety. Growers early recognized the value of resistance, a characteristic probably responsible for the popularity of Mediterranean wheat, which main- tained a type of rust tolerance over a period of years. The plant breeding program of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station has emphasized the breeding of resis- tant varieties and has released Austin, Westar, Quanah, Milam, and Sturdy which at the time of release had a high degree of resistance. Other varieties with more limited types or degrees of resistance have also been released. Most leaf diseases of wheat reproduce by means of spores, which are similar to the seed of more complex seed plants. Races of the disease occur which may be compared to a variety of a crop plant. These races vary in their ability to attack varieties, and the races change from time to time. When the races change, a variety resistant at one period may become susceptible to new races that arise or occur. These changes 8 More information 0n insects 0f wheat and their control is presented in Daniels et al. (44). TABLE 6. ESTIMATES OF LOSSES FROM WHEAT DISEASES IN TEXAS IN SEVERE-LOSS YEARS 1935 1949 and 1957 (A INS, 6) 1935 1949 1957 Loss in crop in Loss in crop in Loss in crop in Diseases Percent Bushels Percent Bushels Percent Bushels Leaf rust 2.0 237,000 11.1 12,436,350 3.9 1,489, 111 "Stem rust 10.0 1, 185,000 4. 8 5,845, 100 0. 7 245, 157 Septoria 3.4 4,217,440 5.0 1,866,981 Smuts 0.2 179,310 Tr 13,095 Others 3. 5 295, 000 1.1 1, 343,225 1.1 416,522 TOTALS 15. 5 1, 717, 000 20. 5 24, 021,545 10. 7 4, 009,904 Figure 16A: Greenbugs, an aphid which attacks the wheat crop in Texas. Figure 16B: Leaf diseases of wheat. ta. 8i". ' at a: I If. g ' q a H A. V, _ .._ A ,1 . X gm“ g mm {wazam _ _, _ _ ma», 1m :~..»....;..r.\. was...“ Figure 16C: Loose smut of wheat destroys the entire head or spike of the plant. Figure 16D: A field of wheat destroyed by stem rust, a fungus disease, College Station, Texas, 1956. ' cause major problems in the development of the varieties 0f crop plants. Kernel smut (stinking smut 0r bunt) destroys the kernels of wheat, replacing the seed with a mass of smut spores, and loose smut (head smut) destroys the entire head or spike (Figures 16C). Effective fungicides for seed treatment to prevent smut infection now are available, and disease losses are due to failure to treat the seed. Some of the early treatments for the control of smut were very unusual compared with present practices. An article in the 1857 American Agriculturalist (1) of 1843 reports that the first seed treatment was by Oliver de Cerres of England. He soaked the seed and skimmed off the light seed, much of which was smutty. Treatment of seed with lime started in 1625. The Agriculturalist of 1873 advised growers to use chamber lye and a weak solution of salt to kill smut spores. Still later in 1873, the journal gives speci- fic instruction on control of smut as follows, “Spread the wheat seed on the barn floor, upon 4 bushels of seed dash 10 to 16 quarts of human urine, add 6 quarts of freshly slacked lime and plant immediately.” Weather One of the most frequent and widespread hazards of wheat production is drouth. Lack of rainfall or its uneven distribution can be very damaging to the establishment of the crop, determining yield and quality of grain and the value of the crop for winter pasture. The great drouths of the l920’s 1930’s, and 1950’s were widespread. More local drouths occurred in many seasons. Baker (10) cites a 14- month drouth in Karnes County in 1856-57 which caused the soil to crack 12 inches wide in places. Extensive drouths during 1886 and 1887 in the Abilene area caused settlers to abandon their homes and return to East Texas. A drouth in the northern Rolling Plains from 1891 to 1894 (Collins, 37) also caused abandonment of farms. The famous and widely publicized drouths of the l930’s were caused by a combination of circumstances. Not only was rainfall below normal and poorly distributed, but large areas of light textured or sandy soils had been broken out of sod and put into cultivation as part of the World War I effort. Several years of continuous cropping to wheat and the use of shallow tillage implements contributed to soil blowing. The one-way plow used extensively during this period (Figure 17A) contributed to the wind erosion. Severe soil blowing and damage to land common in this period is shown in Figure 17B. A dust storm approaching Big Spring is shown in Figure 17C.- 9 Low temperature damage to crops is another hazard of wheat production in Texas. The Texas “blue norther” has an unenviable reputation. Seedling plant damage and stand thinning, winterkilling of areas or entire fields and spring freezes damage the wheat crop in many seasons. Historical- ly, some of the major freezes include that cited by Penny (89) when the Brazos River froze over as far south as Hood County in 1848 and 1849; and others cited by Richardson (98)—one in 1855 and one on June 11, 1877, when crops were killed as far south as Austin. The great freezes of 1886 and 1889, which caused losses of cattle and crops from Texas to Florida, are well recorded. 34 Wheat is more tolerant to low temperature than oats or barley but it may be damaged in several ways. Seri winterkilling of wheat in entire fields or parts of fields o“ certain areas of the state occurred in 1929, 1935, 1943, 1949, 1962, and 1963. The loss from winterkilling in 1963 was estimated to be 677,000 acres with a crop value of $29 million. Winterkilling of wheat on top of contour water furrows of irrigated wheat is shown in Figure 18A, and damage from a late spring freeze in 1957 near Quanah is shown in Figure 18B. Shattering and lodging of the grain are other hazards that may reduce yields or cause increased cost of harvest- ing. With the tall standard-height varieties, which grew from 36 to 50 inches in height, lodging was a serious factor under irrigation or other high yield situations (Figure 18D). The lodged crop is difficult and expensive to harvest and results in loss of both amount and quality of grain. With the ad- vent and subsequent wide use of semi-dwarf varieties, lodging is of less importance than formerly. Shattering may be caused by weakness of the outer glumes in some varieties or from hail and wind damage to wheat. The development of storm and shatter resistant varieties has been a major objective of the breeding pro- gram. Recent varieties made available to Texas growers are all highly resistant to these hazards. Damage from hail to a wheat crop is shown in Figure 18C. The variety Tascosa is grown extensively in the area between Amarillo and Lub- bock where hail storms are frequent. An experiment in rainmaking was conducted by the U. S. Army in 1891, after the severe drouths of the 1880’s. Observers had associated heavy rainfall with the firing of cannon during wars. Gun powder and dynamite explosions were used in an attempt to increase rain in the Midland to El Paso area, but the results were not positive (Rayburn, 94). MILLING OF WHEAT Wheat is usually milled to convert it to a suitable human or animal food. A mortar and pestle grinding device was used by primitive peoples for centuries. Figure 19A shows a “metate” stone found in an Indian cave near Presidio, the area where wheat was first grown in Texas. The first wheat grown in Texas was used to supply only the needs of the family or to trade for other food or supplies. On the frontier, wheat was often eaten whole after soaking. Many settlers brought small hand mills with them or devised some type of grinding method. A common method was to hollow out a stump where corn or wheat could be beaten into flour. Hall (54), whose family moved to Collin County in 1946, stated, “The closest grist mill was at Bonham. A merchant at McKinney, shipped in a supply of small hand mills in 1858.” Bates (13), whose family came to Denton County in 1853, writes ,“ We had to take our wheat to Colbert Ferry north of Sherman for grinding.” However, the first mills in Texas date back to long before the settlement of North Central Texas. An early mill was built at the French settlement on the Red River near present-day Texarkana (see section on introduction of wheat). French families came up river from Natchitoches, Figure 17A: One way plow used extensively for wheat land tillage in West Texas from 1930 to 1950. Figure 17B: Wind and sand damage to wheat fields near Hereford, Texas, in 1935. Figure 17C: A dust storm approaching Big Spring, Texas, in 1935 . (Courtesy U.S. Soil Conservation Service.) 35 Figure 18A: Winterkilling of wheat on lister beds near Figure 18B: Late spring freeze damage to wheat near Qua- Stratford, Texas, in 1963. nah, Texas, in 1957. Figure 18C: Severe hail damage to wheat near Hereford, Figure 18D: Severe rain, hail and wind damage to wheat Texas, in 1963. near Hereford, Texas, in 1963. Figure 19A: “Metate” grinding stone found in an Indian Figure 19B: Old mill building at San Jose Mission, San cave near Presidio, Texas. (Courtesy Blake Williams.) Antonio, Texas. Built in 1794, the mill was powered by a Norsk water turbine wheel. Figure l9(.I: Norsk water turbine wheel at San Jose Mission Figure 19D: Stone grinding wheel and wheat bin at San mill. Built in 1794; restored in 1936. i Jose Mission mill, built in 1794. 37 Louisiana, and lived at this location from 1719 to 1762. They grew wheat and other crops, brought stone burs from France, and built a small mill to grind their grain (Mc Connell, 76). Although the Spanish first grew corn at San Antonio because the Indians preferred corn over wheat as a food, when Theodore de Croix inspected the San Jose Mission in 1777, he gave special instructions that they were to grow wheat and barley as well as corn and beans (Bolton, 18). The inventory of the granary in 1794 showed 432 bushels of wheat in storage. Father Pedrajo was the last Missionary at San Jose from 1789 to 1794. During this period he supervised the building of a mill beside the irrigation ditch, which ran on the north side of the Mission. The remains of this old mill were found in 1936 and restored (Johnson, 67). It is described as a Norsk mill using a bladed water turbine for power. Water from the irrigation ditch is stored in a stone-lined tank above the turbine. Views of the re- stored turbine and stone mill are shown in Figure 19B, C, and D. Apparently there were mills in northern Mexico even before this time. The Aguayo expedition of 1719-22 included in their supplies, “. . . 350 cargos of flour and 150 cargos 0f corn” (Bolton, 18) (probably a burro load). Sonnichsen (105) describes El Paso of the 1820’s as: “Juan Ponce de Leon settled at El Paso, grew wheat where the E1 Paso business district now stands and built a mill at the falls of the Rio Grande in 1827.” A group of Mormons built a grist mill on the Colorado River six miles above Austin, in 1842. Because of floods, they later moved it to Hamilton Creek near Burnet. When they left Texas, Smithwick (104) bought the mill and operated it. He describes this mill as a “crude, cumbersome, home-made apparatus with the burs made of native granite stone and the 26-foot water power wheel made of native wood.” Lang’s mill, near Doss on the Pedernales River 20 miles northwest of Fredericksburg, is probably the oldest Texas mill still standing. The dam and water wheel were first built to serve a sawmill; later they were used for a brewery, and then a grist mill as the mill was adapted to changing conditions. The mill was washed away in 1854 and again in 1862, but it was rebuilt each time and remained in opera- tion- until 1888. Only portions remain today (Figure 20A) (Biggers, 16). The oldest mill in continuous operation in Texas is the Pioneer Mills of San Antonio. The forerunner of this mill was the Guenther Mill, built on Live Oak Creek west of Fredericksburg in 1851. The mill stones came from France and were hauled from Indianola (extinct port city near Houston) by wagon train. The water wheel, gears, and other parts were made from wood by the pioneers. Because of flood problems, the Guenthers moved to San Antonio in 1859. Since then, the mill has been rebuilt several times and kept modern as milling equipment and procedures changed. It was one of the first to install steel roller mill- wheels. The Pioneer Mills of today are shown in Figure 20B (92). Numerous mills were built along the fault line where the Edwards Plateau drops off to the Central Blacklands. Since dependable water power was available here, mills were built 38 during the period 1855 to 1880 at Georgetown, Austin, Round Rock, Salado, Clifton, Waco, and other locati The expansion of wheat acreage during this time prov“ grain for the mills. Douglass (47) estimates that by 1900 ~ there were 500 community mills in Texas. The first mill in the Fort Worth area was built at O’Bar, later named Azle, a suburb of Fort Worth, in 1859. The City Mills were built on the east bluff of the Trinty in 1874, and others followed soon. The Dallas Elevator and Milling Company was organized by a group of farmers and merchants in 1872 with the object of promoting the growth of wheat and sale of its products (1 10). A grist mill had been built in 1845 at Farmers Branch north of Dallas. The Brazos Mill of Waco was built in 1875 to serve the 30,000 acres of wheat grown in the area. Both the McSpad- den and Ingram Mills and the Prairie Mill were established at Terrell in 1876 (Stoltz, 107). The present (1978) Morrison Milling Company of Den- ton, one of two original mills still in operation since before 1900, was organized in 1886 as the Farmer’s Alliance Milling Company to furnish a market for wheat growers. In 1900 it became the Alliance Milling Company, a cor- poration, and in 1936 was purchased by E. W. Morrison. During the period 1875 to 1920, when Mediterranean wheat dominated the acreage, the Alliance Mill won many prizes for its flour (see section “Mediterranean Era”). It has been modernized several times and now operates 24 hours per day much of the year, producing wheat ant. corn mill products. The company has been a leader in the development of quick-service kitchen products. Farther west the Donnell Brothers built a water-powered mill near Graham in 1877 (Figure 20C), (Couch, 42). M. R. Cheatham built a mill at Coleman in 1874 (Bruce, 24). On the High Plains, the Harvest Queen Mill was built at Plainview in 1907. Others followed rapidly as these areas became the major wheat producing areas of Texas. IMPROVEMENT OF THE CROP Under natural conditions, the strongest animal or the best adapted plant may survive to dominate and perpetuate the species. However, as man domesticated crops, he selected the types best suited to his needs and caused them to survive by protecting them against hazards. Wheat is no exception to this pattern. While some of the wild species of wheat or related species of Aegilops or Agropyron may still survive in the wild in certain parts of the world, modern bread wheats would not survive in the wild. Just how bread wheats evolved in nature is not known, but it is assumed that they arose over eons of time by natural crossing, mutation, or doubling of chromosomes or combinations of these processes. Early Efforts to Improve Wheat As man began to grow wheat for food, he observed differences among plants and selected the type best suited to his needs. The first improvements came from plant selections out of mixed populations developed in nature. For example, the Fultz variety was selected from Lancaster, U Figure 20A: Remnants of old Doss Mill near Doss, Texas. Figure 20B: The modern Pioneer Flour Mills, San Antonio, Built in 1849 for a saw mill, brewery, and grist and flour Texas. Built as Guenther Mill, Fredericksburg, Texas, in mill. As seen in 1949. 1857; moved to San Antonio in 1859. (Courtesy Pioneer Flour Mills.) Figure 20C: The old Donnell Mill on the Clear Fork of the Brazos River near Graham, Texas, in 1877. 39 an old variety introduced from England. Blackhull was selected from Turkey wheat, a type brought to Kansas by Mennonite settlers from Russia. Kanred, Cheyenne, and Denton are pure-line selections made by research workers at experiment stations. The first wheat crosses were made by private plant breeders working for seed companies in England, France, and Sweden. In the United States, a number of private plant breeders made crosses of wheat varieties before experiment stations were established. General Harmon (57) of New York introduced or selected the varieties Flint, White May, English Velvet, and Yorkshire. George A Dietz (46), Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, claimed in 1847 that he had the only experimental farm. He developed the varieties French White Mediterranean, Hungarian Red Chaff, Rochester Red Chaff, Egyptian Red May, Italian White, and California White. Cyrus G. Pringle, Charlotte, Vermont, produced the varieties Surprise and Defiance, which were marketed by the B. K. Bliss Seed Company of New York. A. N. Jones, a farmer of Newark, New York, made more than 15 wheat crosses and developed the varieties Jones Fife and Red Wave. Introduction from abroad was, of course, a major means of finding new wheat varieties for growers to test. Early Wheat Improvement in Texas The Texas Agricultural Experiment Station was esta- blished in 1889. The first research efforts were aimed at determining the adaptation and management of crops and obtaining the best varieties. Wheat had become a well- established crop of 300,000 acres by this time. Cooperative farm tests of 200 strains of wheat were conducted at Mc- Gregor and McKinney in 1890, according to Director Connell (38). From 1890 to 1910, seed of many crops were offered to growers for adaptation tests, with the request that growers give a report on results. Among the varieties of wheat tested in 1902 were domestic varieties and some from Russia, Egypt, and North Africa (111). Crop testing in cooperation with the XIT ranch at Channing, was started by the U. S. Department of Agricul- ture in 1903, and the Amarillo Experiment Station was established in 1906. Work from 1906 to 1919 is reported by Ross (100, 101). Another U. S. Department of Agricul- ture experiment station was established at San Antonio in 1904 (Hastings, 60). The Division of Forage Crops, U. S. Department of Agriculture, established a station at Chilli- cothe in 1906 where 17 varieties of wheat were tested. This later became Texas Substation No. 12. The Amarillo Experiment Station and the small grain plantings of 1906 are shown in Figure 21A and B. The Texas Substations 5 and 6 were established at Denton and Temple in 1911. The 1915 small grain tests and threshing equipment of that time are shown in Figures 21C and D. Associated with these early experiments on adaptation was the distribution of seed of some strains. The better strains were increased. Substation No. 6 sold seed of Mediterranean, Red May, Kubanka durum, and Kharkof hard red winter wheat from 1911 to 1914. Black Winter emmer and Red Winter spelt, new feed grains at that time, also were distributed. 40 The Amarillo Experiment Station records do not show that seed of wheat varieties were distributed but probably were. Several references speak of crop received from the U. S. Patent Office during the p from 1860 to 1900. The Selection Period From 1880 to 1930, the pure line selection method was used extensively in the development of crop varieties. Wheat of this period probably was considerably mixed. Farm machinery—dril1s, binders, threshers, wagons, bins, and elevators-afforded opportunities for mixing of strains, with very few facilities to keep strains pure. Immediately upon establishment of Substation No. 6, selection work started. The superintendent, T. W. Buell, reported in 1911, “We have made selections in Fulcaster, Mediterranean, Fultz, Poole, Red Wonder and other wheats.” Many strains received from other experiment stations and by introduction were mixed and offered opportunities for selection work. Purified seed of some named varieties were released from time to time. Pure line strains of Mediterranean, No. 3015- 72, 3015-81, and 5933-34 were sold for a time during the 1920’s. Another strain, No. 3015-66, was given the name Denton and released to farmers in 1926. This variety was grown on 48,948 acres in 1934 and was grown to some extent until about 1945. After the introduction of the hard red winter wheat strains, many selections were made from Turkey, Crimean, Kharkof, and others. While no Texas selections were dis- tributed, the varieties Kanred and Cheyenne, derived from Turkey, were grown in Texas. Keliehor’s Russian, a tall late mixed variety introduced from Russia by Joe Keliehor of Plainview was grown on some acreage in the 1920-1930 period. Many selections were made from this stock, but none proved of value. Development of the Modern Small Grains Program Small grain research from 1911 to 1930 was concen- trated at Denton, with limited work at College Station, Temple, and Chillicothe. The Amarillo Experiment Station was closed in 1919 and the San Antonio Station in 1932. The development of State-Federal regional programs of research with the cereal crops was initiated in 1930. Funds and responsibility were given the Office of Cereal Crops and Diseases, Bureau of Plant Industry, Agricultural Research Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture. Texas and many other states set up cooperative programs under this plan. K. S. Quisenberry was assigned the hard red winter program and was located at Lincoln, Nebraska. Later Regional Coordinators were L. P. Reitz and Virgil Johnson. Regional nurseries to test adaptation, disease reaction, insect effects, winterkilling, drouth tolerance, and quality were esta- blished with the necessary agronomists, pathologists, ento- mologists and cereal chemists to develop breeding programs and carry on the tests (Reitz, 96). Salmon et al. (102) in 1953 reviewed 50 years of wheat improvement in the United States, including part of this program. l. As part of this program, I. M. Atkins was stationed at ' Figure 21A: The old USDA Experiment Station east of Figure 21B: Small grain experimental plantings at the Amarillo about 1906. USDA Experiment Station near Amarillo, Texas, 1906. Figure 21C: Small grain plantings at Substation No. 6, Figure 21D: Threshing small grain experimental plots at Denton, Texas, about 1915. Texas Substation No. 6, Denton, Texas, 1915. Denton, Texas, Substation N0. 6, in 1930. E. S. McFadden was moved from South Dakota to College Station in 1936. C. Futrell was stationed at College Station in 1949, and Harvey Chada was stationed at Denton in 1951. The scope of research at Denton was greatly expanded in 1930, and I. M. Atkins was given responsibility for cooperative testing in the High and Rolling Plains, where there was no active work on small grains. Work was initiated with county agricultural agents of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service in the High Plains, using variety strip testing on farms. A breeding nursery and large field test plots were sown at Amarillo through cooper- ation with Price Memorial College, a junior college which had a farm and some facilities. This cooperation continued until 1938. Variety strip tests were conducted at from 16 to 20 locations in 10 counties for a few years, but later this was reduced to a few locations. Testing at Substation No. 12, Chillicothe, was expanded in 1931 and included a breeding nursery after 1938. Variety testing was initiated at Iowa Park in 1931 and continued to the late 1970’s. To meet the need for more adequate testing in the Rolling Plains area, tests were initiated at the Spur Substation in 1949 and in cooperation with Abilene Christian College in 1953. Additional tests were initiated in Central Texas at Greenville in 1936, at Stephenville in 1948, at Sherman in 1953, and at McGregor in 1953. A group of farmers from Comfort asked for tests starting in 1949, and these were conducted from 1949 to 1957. TheBushland Research Center The U. S. Southwestern Great Plains Research Station was established in 1936 by the Soil Conservation Service for studies of wind erosion, moisture conservation, weed control, and cultural studies of crops. Cooperation with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station was initiated im- mediately and David A. Reid, agronomist, was stationed at Bushland in 1938. In 1977 the Texas A&M University Agricultural Research and Extension Center was established in nearby Amarillo. The research program of small grains was enlarged under Reid and included regional nurseries and expanded testing of breeding lines at several locations on the High Plains, Stratford, Plainview, Hereford, and Wellington. Since 1946, K. B. Porter has been in charge of the Bushland small grains program. Under his direction both research and facilities have been improved and expanded. Basic research has been conducted, and results have been published on shattering in wheat, winterkilling, lodging, test weight, milling and baking quality, greenbug resistance, and the development of hybrid wheat. Varieties released from this station include Westar, Tascosa, Sturdy, Caprock, TAM W-101, and TAM W-103. After severe infestations and losses from the greenbug (aphid) in 1942, 1951, 1952, along with smaller losses in other years, work on greenbug control and breeding for resistance was initiated with the employment of Norris Daniels in 1951. Many basic data on insect control and behavior have resulted from his research. The modern facilities at the U. S. Southwestern Great Plains Field Station at Bushland, the large field plots of wheat under test at Bushland, and some of the new semi-dwarf strains 42 bred by K. B. Porter. Owen Merkle, USDA agronomist, are shown in Figures 22A, B, and C. Substation N0. 6, Denton From very limited facilities in 1911 (Figure 21C), the Denton Substation became one of the most widely known centers for small grains research in the South. The expan- sion into the Regional program in 1930, followed by more adequate funds and facilities starting in 1946, permitted expansion of the breeding and testing work to cover the entire state. Under the leadership of I. M. Atkins, work was expanded to Chillicothe, Iowa Park, Spur, Abilene, Stephenville, Temple, McGregor, Comfort, Prairie View, and Lockart, plus additional disease testing in South Texas and cooperation with several Mexican stations. I. M. Atkins moved to College Station in 1954. In response to the disastrous greenbug infestation in 1942 and several later ones, Atkins and Dahms (5) dis- covered greenbug resistance in wheat, barley, and oats. The U. S. Department of Agriculture assigned Harvey Chada, entomologist, to an expanded research program on greenbugs and other insects (44). The U. S. Department of Agriculture further expanded the work on breeding at Denton in 1953 with the employment of Dale Weibel, later replaced by Earl Gilmore (1958-60) and James E. Gardenhire (1960-date). Breeders at the Denton Substation probably developed or distributed more improved varieties than those at any other single station in the South, or perhaps the United States. Starting in 1926 with Denton wheat, these include Austin, Supremo, Seabreeze, Travis, Bowie, Westar, Quanah, Frisco, Crockett, Caddo, Tascosa, Sturdy, and, in cooperation with the Purdue Experiment Station, the soft wheat varieties Knox, Knox 62, Monon, and Arthur. In addition, Substation No. 6 released Tennessee Winter bar- ley, the basis for establishement of barley as a crop in Texas, followed by Finley, Wintex, Texan, Cordova, Era, and TAMU-B401. They also developed and released the oat varieties Frazier, Nortex, New Nortex, Fultex, Alamo, Alamo-X, Mustang, Bronco, and Norwin, and contributed to the release of Cortez and Coronado. Studies on lodging in cereals provided the basis for the first short wheats involving the club types-breeding corn- binations which resulted in the high test weight-high quality varieties of Crockett, Caddo, and Tascosa; continuous release of varieties with improved disease resistancejand development of isogenic line concept for comparing strains differing in simple traits. The isogenic line concept has now been used in basic studies in many crops and fields, result- ing in more than 300 publications. Scenes at the Denton Substation No. 6 are shown in Figures 23A, B, C, and D. College Station Undoubtedly a number of people on the headquarters staff were concerned with the early testing of small grains. The Farm and Ranch of July 1902 (51) reported that F. Holzman, a Texas A&M College graduate, was employed to carry on the cooperative small grain tests, but no further record of this person can be found. A. H. Leidigh, agronomist at A&M, was in charge of corn and small grain from 1915 to 1925. P. C. Mangelsdorf held this positio \ n. Figure 22A: The modern facilities of the U.S. Southwestern Great Plains Research Station and Texas A&M Research and Extension Center, Bushland, Texas. Figure 22B: Large field plots of wheat varieties for yield and quality tests at Bushland, Texas, 1965. Figure 22C: Modern small grain breeding nursery plots at Bushland, Texas, near Amarillo. O. G. Merkle (left) and K. B. Porter (right), scientists. Figure 23B: Field day visitors on hill pasture of Texas Figure 23A: Texas Substation N0. 6 as seen from air, Substation No. 6, Denton, Texas. Looking toward station 1956. grounds, 1956. Figure 23D:' Regional station visitors in 1938 at Texas Sub- station No. 6, Denton, Texas. Left to right: P. C. Mangels- dorf, TAES, College Station, Texas; J. H. Parker, Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Manhattan, Kansas; K. S. Figure 23C: Transporting Station visitors around Substa- Quisenberry, USDA, Lincon, Nebraska; and P. B. Dunkle, tion No. 6 in the horse and buggy days of the 1920’s. Superintendent. from 1925 to 1938 and made the wheat crosses from which and Westar varieties were developed. search on breeding for rust resistance was enlarged 1936, when E. S. McFadden was transferred to College tation. His famous earlier work of transferring the rust resistance of the emmer wheat to bread wheat won him many prizes, including the Reader’s Digest and Scott awards. McFadden, with some of the species used in devel- oping his theory of the origin of wheat, is shown in Figure 24A. Rust research was further expanded in 1951, when Pathologist M. C. Futrell was stationed at College Station (Figure 24B). His basic work on the nutrition of the rusts, their spread in Texas and nationwide, and the development of new races, contributed to better understanding and control of these diseases. The wheat breeding nursery at College Station is shown in Figure 24C. Research on the root and foot-rots of wheat and on virus diseases was initiated in 1958 by Lee Ashworth and ater carried on by Robert Tolar. Facilities for the growing f wheat for disease studies under controlled conditions were greatly enlarged during this period. Quality testing of experimental strains to determine their suitability to the market needs was initiated in 1948 in cooperation with Arlington State College, at that time a branch of Texas A&M University. In Figure 24D, Paschal Scottino, chemist, is shown judging the characteristics of the experimental samples. Later this work was moved to College Station under the supervision of Lloyd Rooney and enlarged to include quality studies of both wheat and sorghum. Breeding Wheat by Hybridization Although the selection method of wheat improvement was that used most extensively before 1920, few hybrids were made, and only a few varieties were developed from crossing selected varieties. The first record of wheat crosses found in Texas Agricultural Experiment Station publica- tions is that in the 19129 annual report from the Denton Station. T. W. Buell reported that 15 wheat crosses were made, involving the varieties Mediterranean, Red May, and Dawson Golden Chaff. The process of hybridization begins with selection of the varieties to be crossed. These must be carefully selected to combine the characteristics needed in the new variety. The flower parts of a wheat spikelet are shown in Figure 25A. After emasculation (removal of the anthers or male parts from the female parent variety before pollen shed- . ding), the mature pollen from the male parent variety is transferred with hand tweezers to the stigma of the female parent when it is receptive. Figure 25B shows this process being carried out in the greenhouse at College Station by Owen G. Merkle, agronomist, and Madhukah K. Kerde, a aduate student from India. The hybrid resulting from the above cross must be grown through six to eight generations before true-breeding selections can be isolated. Selections must then be tested Unpublished data in annual reports 0f the Texas Substa- tion N0. 6, Denton, for 1911 and other years. over a period of years to determine their usefulness, range of adaptation, and quality. The development of a variety by hybridization involves from 8 to 15 years before it is available for commercial growing. Plant breeding work to develop wheat varieties for the many climateic and soil conditions in Texas requires much specialized equipment, considerable land and building facilities, labor and technical assistance. Finally, the quality testing also requires specialized equipment and trained personnel. Some of the specialized equipment used in this work is shown in Figure 26. Planting equipment used for seeding hundreds and even thousands of strains is shown in A. A small harvester for experimental small grain plots was designed at Denton in 1948 (Figures 26B, C). This small harvester was built by a local machine shop, and more than 35 were shipped all over the Midwest, where they have been used for many years. Threshing equipment for single heads of wheat or small plot samples is available but not shown. A small plot combine built by a commercial com- pany cuts and threshes small plots for yield tests but may mix the grain (Figure 26D). Other plots cut and threshed by other equipment are grown for seed purposes. Improving the Soft Wheats - The soft red winter wheats, Red May, 1830-75; and Mediterranean, 1875-1930; were the first wheats grown in North Central Texas. Selections from Mediterranean pro- duced Denton wheat and strains T. S. 3015-72 and T. S. 3015-81. As these strains were susceptible to leaf and stem rust, an early objective was to add rust resistance. Rust resistant spring wheats became available about 1925. Hope wheat, developed by E. S. McFadden, and others developed- in Minnesota and North Dakota were available. P. C. Mangelsdorf crossed McFadden’s Hope with Mediterranean in 1928. The variety Austin, released in 1938, in addition to being rust resistant, gave good grain yields and had desirable forage characteristics. By 1945, Austin was grown on 500,000 acres in Texas, but then new races of rust began to attack it and the acreage declined rapidly. Austin and sister strains were used in the develop- ment of Quanah, Tascosa, Frisco, and in breeding lines used in plant breeding programs in Kansas, Nebraska, and Indiana. Because older varieties were no longer satisfactory and Austin now was rusted, the soft wheat milling trade asked the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station if satisfactory varieties could be obtained elsewhere. Cooperation was initiated with the Purdue Agricultural Experiment Station in 1948. Advanced lines from Purdue were tested at Den- ton, Sherman, Greenville, and Temple from 1948 to 1959. Promising lines from this material were named Knox, Vermillion, and Monon and released jointly by the Indiana and Texas stations. Knox proved so well adapted and popu- lar that by 1956 it dominated the soft wheat acreage of North Central Texas. Knox was later replaced by Knox 62. Breeding work at Denton resulted in the variety Frisco, a rust resistant Red May type. However, it did not become popular, so was grown on only a limited acreage. None of these lines was well adapted in South Texas because of their winter growth habit. 45 Figure 24B: The wheat breeding nursery at College Station, Figure 24A: E. S. McFadden with some of his wheat 1956. (Left to right) I. M. Atkins, M. C. Futrell, and Dale species. Weibel- Figure 24C: The small grains nursery at College Station Figure 24D: Paschal Scottino evaluating bread samples with campus of Texas A&M University in background. from experimental wheat strains. Arlington State College, Arlington, Texas, 1952. Figure 25A: Wheat flowers. Figure 25B: Emasculating wheat flowers in preparation for making crosses of two varieties in the greenhouse. O. G. Merkle (left) and Madhukak Kherde (right), a graduate from India. 47 Figure 26A: Small-plot planting equipment. Planting four- row nursery wheat plots at Denton, 1949. Figure 26C: Harvesting small experimental plots of wheat at Bushland, Texas, 1967. Figure 26B: Small self-propelled nursery harvester designed at Texas Substation N0. 6, Denton, Texas. Figure 26D: Small-plot combine for harvesting nursery wheat plots, Bushland, Texas, 1974. 48 al ing sibling lines of Austin, produced the varieties pr mo and Seabreeze. Again new races of rust developed, Supremo was not released in Texas; however, it was found to be adapted in Mexico, where 150,000 acres were grown in 1950. 0 Small acreages were seeded in South Texas from seed brought back from Mexico. During the 1940’s, a stem rust race called 15B caused very serious damage to wheat from Texas to North Dakota. This race was able to attack all commercial varieties of bread and durum wheat being grown. From 1940 to 1950, E. S. McFadden developed the 15B-rust-resistant varieties Travis and Bowie, and seed were increased for distribution. They were recalled before commercial release when still another race developed, which could attack these varieties. As with Austin, these were used extensively in breeding work from Texas to Canada. Finally, considerable relief from the rust problem was achieved by the release of Milam, an intermediate winter pe, useful for both winter pasture and grain in South exas. Acreage restrictions also were released at this time so that Milam was planted on 100,000 acres by 1969 and continued in use for 10 years. After Knox 62 was released to replace Knox, several other Purdue varieties were introduced for the soft wheat area. These were in succession, Arthur, Arthur 71, and recently Abe and Oasis. Also Coker 68-15, developed by the Coker Pedigree Seed Company, Hartsville, South Carolina, proved to be widely adapted in Texas in the l970’s and was extensively grown. The excellent forage characteristics, good grain yields, and semi-dwarf plant type encouraged its use even in South Texas. needing work by E. S. McFadden at College Station, Improving the Hard Red Winter Wheats Turkey Wheats: The Turkey wheats were brought to Kansas by Mennonite settlers in 1874 and moved into Texas about 1900. Turkey and Kanred, a Turkey selection, were the dominant varieties from 1924 to 1940, occupying 86 percent of the Texas acreage in 1929. Improvement work in the 1920’s and l930’s was concerned with selec- tions from Turkey and a local strain called Keliehor’s Russian. Although hundreds of strains were tested, none was released as a new variety. Utilizing Turkey strains as a base, P. C. Mangelsdorf began in 1926 to make crosses to improve the Turkey type. Included were crosses to spring wheats and to Hard Federation, a white-seeded, strong-strawed, Australian wheat. Hundreds of strains from these crosses were tested at Denton and Amarillo from 1930 to 1945. From this breeding work came the new variety Westar, released in 1942. Westar was immediately very popular and by 1949 occupied 2 million acres in Texas and was grown also in eight other states from Illinois to Oregon. Q Cooperation through the Regional program made ailable the Kansas strains which developed into the popular varieties Comanche and Wichita. These were Private correspondence with Norman Borlaug, Rocke- ller Foundation, Mexico City, D. F. On file in the Agron- “Department, Texas A&M University. tested and distributed jointly by the Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas Agricultural Experiment Stations. Both varie- ties were grown on one-half million acres each for many years between 1950 and 1965. Blackhull Wheats: Blackhull and derivatives of Black- hull—Early Blackhull, Chiefkan, Red Chief, BlueJacket, and others spread to increased acreages from 1935 to 1945 until they exceeded the acreage of Turkey strains. Because the Blackhull wheats had distinctly different milling and baking characteristics from those of Turkey strains, they became a problem in the milling trade (Heyne, 63). Realizing the agronomic problems of the Turkey wheats and the quality problems of the Blackhull wheats, the Texas State-Federal program in 1938 had as its objective to combine the good characteristics of each type into new wheats for Texas. Chiefl>m2 mcm~cm§-m>:wv_ .\ omEsmm =3. 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Value of a Plant Breeding Program eat research is expensive and requires the services of ll-trained scientists and adequate facilities. The question may then be asked, What are the dividends? There are many returns, but some are difficult to evaluate: Higher yields, better test weight, better quality, reduced hail and storm losses, reduced lodging and shattering, more economical use of water and fertilizer, increased value for winter pasture, and protection from disease and insects and others. (Testi- monials from growers for many of these characteristics and value of new varieties are on file.) Reitz (97) has re- viewed these advantages on a regional level. Any increase in yield, even though small, when projected to a large acreage, adds up to significantly increased produc- tion and income. During its period of use, Westar wheat averaged 2 to 4 bushels per acre more than the Turkey wheats grown previously. When this is projected to 2 million acres, as was grown in 1949, this means an increased roduction of 4 million bushels. An effort has been made (Figure 31) to demonstrate the value in grain yields of Tascosa wheat as compared to Tur- key. Under dry farming conditions in Texas, Tascosa has consistently yielded 2 to 4 bushels more than Turkey (low- er two lines on Figure 31). Under irrigation, where the potential of a variety can be utilized, Tascosa has out- yielded Turkey by from 5 to 2O bushels per acre. Further- more, its ability to stand for harvesting without lodging or shattering adds greatly to its value. Based on the acreages of Tascosa seeded from 1959 to 1972 and a 5 year moving average yield, the increased production from Tascosa for this period has been estimated to be 54 million bushels of grain worth $82 million. Other new improved varieties have added to this return from investment in wheat improvement. Wheat production and utilization have changed in Texas during the past 40 years, the period of organized wheat research. The use of better adapted cropland for growing wheat, increased use of irrigation, increased use of fertili- zers on both dry-land and irrigated acreages, and increased use of the crop for winter grazing have all influenced wheat production. The improvement in milling and baking charac- teristics of the wheat produced has also contributed to the value of the crop in the market place. During the early l930’s, partly because of severe drouth, average yields of wheat in Texas often ranged from 8 to 12 bushels per acre. This range continued until about 1950. From 1950 to 1978, there was a gradual, and sometimes rather rapid, increase in average yield (Figure 32). The release of disease resistant varieties with high yield potential and improved quality, and the control of hazards, coincide with and contributed to this increase. The combination of these factors has made Texas a significant contributor to ited States and World wheat production. Continuing search promises continuing progress in production of this important food crop. O WHEAT VARIETIES DEVELOPED OR DISTRIBUTED IN TEXAS BY THE TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION (TAES) Year Variety Developed by Improved characteristics 1908 Turkey Introduction Drouth resistance, hardiness 1922 Mediterran- Leaf rust resistance ean 3015-72 1922 Mediterran- Leaf rust resistance, earliness ean 3 015 -81 1924 Denton Selection Leaf rust resistance, yield 1926 Kanred Kansas Drouth and cold tolerance 1934 Tenmarq Kansas Yield, quality 1938 Comanche Kansas Yield, quality, leaf rust resistance 1938 Austin TAES Rust resistance, yield 1942 Wichita Kansas Earliness, yield, test weight 1944 Westar TAES Yield, quality, leaf rust resistance Earliness, rust resistance Disease resistance, yield, 1944 Seabreeze TAES 1946 Supremo TAES forage 1949 Bowie TAES Disease resistance, yield, forage 1949 Travis TAES Disease resistance, yield, forage 1951 Quanah TAES Disease resistance, quality, yield 1953 Frisco TAES Disease resistance, earliness 195 6 Knox Purdue Yield, forage, disease resistance Yield, test weight, earliness Yield, test weight, quality Storm resistance, test weight, 1956 Crockett TAES 1956 Caddo TAES 1958 Tascosa TAES yield 1966 Sturdy TAES Storm resistance, yield, quality 1969 Caprock TAES Storm resistance, yield, quality 1973 TamW-101 TAES 1975 TamW-103 TAES Storm resistance, yield Storm resistance, yield, earliness SOME CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE WHEAT RESEARCH PROGRAM IN TEXAS Development or introduction of varieties adapted to the several growing areas of the state (preceding list). A total of 24 improved varieties was supplied Texas growers from 1911 to 1974. Basic studies of the rusts and other diseases of wheat: overwintering, spread, nutrition of the rusts; isolating new sources of resistance or combining old sources for use in improvement work. Examples include isolation from emmer or other species, Mediterranean, Sinvalocho, Renaci- miento, Fronteria, Hope, etc. Basic studies of loose smut of wheat: its influence on yields, means of prevention by seed treatment or isolation of foundation seed, varietal resistance. Discovery of greenbug resistance in wheat, oats, and barley: genetics and nature of resistance, cultural and insecticidal control; breeding resistant varieties. Basic studies of straw strength in wheat: effects of 55 Figure 31. Five-Year Moving Average of Turkey vs Tascosa Wheats on Dryland and Under Irrigation in Texas, 1957-1974 Buslqwls per acre 70 , ._. \ '- l/ \__// / 60 ,‘\_,’ 50 40 30 I /.’.\ \. . a , ‘- \_~ .________ _ 20 \_ _/ _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. ' \ ’. <,P° \./_'_.- ' 10 1957 1959 1961 1963 1965 1967 1969 1971 1973 Tascosa -——— Tascosa Irrigated Dryland Turkey --Z--- Turkey . . . . . . . . . . .. Figure 32. Five-Year Moving Average of Yield of Wheat in Texas, 1936-74 Bushels per acre 25 2O 15 1O 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1974 56 10d ' g on yield, development of new methods of measur- in§1ging resistance, inheritance of strength of straw. sic studies on plant height: influence on forage pro- ction, yielding ability, quality, grain characters, test weight, use in production of hybrid Wheat. Basic studies on the origin of bread wheat: the rela- tionships of species; transfer of characters to common wheat; use of related species as a source of resistance to rusts, Septoria, and mildew; and plant and seed characters. Invention of a small, self-propelled nursery harvester for harvesting experimental nursery plots. Development of the isogenic line theory and process for comparing the influence of single genes on plant develop- ment, crop yields, effect of diseases, etc. Procedures adopted widely by scientists with publication of more than 250 papers where the idea was used. Basic studies on shattering in wheat: development of storm resistant varieties Tascosa, Sturdy, Caprock, Caddo, and others. Basic studies on hybrid wheat: its potentials; methods of crossing; effect on yield, seed size, and forage production; and procedures for use. Basic studies on quality: the use of the sedimentation test in determining quality; effect of height, seed size, and other factors on quality. DISSEMINATING INFORMATION FOR CROP IMPROVEMENT Grower Organizations At Cat Spring (Austin County), a group of German settlers organized the Cat Spring Agricultural Society (30) in 1856. Their purpose was to experiment with crops and varieties of crops to determine what could best be grown in that area. From 1856 to 1886, they obtained seed of field crops and vegetables, fruit trees, shrubs, and vine crops of many sorts. At the end of the season, the members reported on the success or failure of the variety or crop. They obtained these samples from the U. S. Patent Office, from friends in other states, and from relatives and friends in their homelands. After 1886, the group became largely social in nature, but it continues as an organization 100 years later. The original meeting hall is shown in Figure 33A. Other growers, too, recognized the value of combined knowledge and experience. At the Texas Corn Growers Association meeting in Waco in 1906, A. M. Ferguson suggested that a Texas Seed Growers Association be formed. The Farm and Ranch of November 1909 states that a Small Grain Association was organized at the Dallas State Fair with A. J. Van Cleve of Burkburnet as president. Qowever, no further reference to this organization has been und. The first Texas Wheat Growers Association was organ- ized at Amarillo in 1921. This developed into a marketing ganization of some importance, later became the National ain Company, then in 1929 changed back to the Texas eat Growers Association. More recently it became wucers Grain Corporation, a cooperative (82). The present Texas Wheat Growers Association was organized in 1950. The Directors are shown in Figure 33B. Later a Rolling Plains Wheat Growers Association was organized as part of the parent organization. These and other grower organizations have assisted in obtaining funds for wheat research. Members of the Texas Wheat Growers Association, along with members of the wheat research group of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, are shown in Figure 33C observing the wheat experiments at College Station in 1956. Agencies for Inspection and Certification of Seed The Texas 25th Legislature of 1887 set up a department of Agriculture, Insurance, Statistics, and History. In 1905, this organization was given the responsibility of inspecting trees, plants, and shrubs for diseases. In 1907, the Legisla- ture established a Department of Agriculture with an elected commissioner. This department became very active in providing agricultural information to the farmers and published many bulletins on agricultural subjects. An Act requiring the labeling of seed was enacted in 1919, but the establishment of rules and regulations for the certification of wheat, cotton, and grains did not come until 1930 (115). R. V. Miller was the first chief of this division under the State Department of Agriculture. After this date, the inspection and certification of planting seed has been the approved means of securing disease and weed free, pure seed of grain varieties. A number of county or area-wide organizations were formed to grow and market certified seed. The Denton County Pedigreed Grain Association grew and marketed Nortex oats and Denton wheat, the first varieties distri- buted by the Texas Experiment Station. Recently (October 1976), the Texas Certified Seed Association was merged with the Texas Seedmens Association into the Texas Seed Trade Association with headquarters at Waco. Farmers, commercial seedmen and specialized growers and suppliers are thus grouped together in efforts to improve the quality and availability of good seed. Extension and Forerunners of Extension Service Farmer’s Congress meetings were first organized in 1898 by Texas A&M College and continued through 1914 as a means of education. Meetings were given wide publicity in the farm press of that day, and railroads gave special rates and sometimes provided special cars and trains for travel. Some meetings were attended by as many as 2,000 farmers. Apparently in 1910 there was a change in sponsorship of such meetings. H. H. Harrington, President of Texas A&M College, told the thirteenth Congress, “It is not the func- tion of Texas A&M College to organize farmers’ institutes and develop extension work (58).” The Texas State Depart- ment of Agriculture then sponsored the Farmers’ Institutes from 1911 to 1920. Under modern conditions, the other half of the research program is thatof taking the information from research to the growers. The Texas Agricultural Extension Service now has a highly developed staff of county agricultural, and home economics extension agents and area specialists. 57 Figure 33A: The Cat Spring Agricultural Society Hall at Cat Spring, Texas, 1856 to 1976. Figure 33B: The Directors of the Texas Wheat Growers Association, 1950. (Left to right) R. C. Buckles, Leo . Witkowski, Kenneth Kendricks, Kenneth Edwards, and R. V. Converse. Figure 33C: Wheat Research Advisory Committee at College Station, Texas, in 1956. (Left to right) Kenneth Kendricks, Fred Dines, K. B. Porter, M. C. F utrell, R. C. Buckles, Dale E. Weibel, E. S. McFadden, and George W. Rivers. e Texas Agricultural Extension Service was started in s a cooperative project of the Texas Agricultural eriment Station and the U. S. Department of Agricul- re. The first local agent was established in Smith County in 1904. By 1914, some 6O counties had employed county agricultural agents. The Smith-Lever Act of 1914 provided funds for cooperative educational work with men and women and, through club work, with boys and girls. Providing subject matter specialists in some counties or areas came much later. The first area wheat specialist was Fred Dines, who served from 1951 to 1954. Since 1965, Frank Petr has been Extension Area Agronomist, located at Amarillo. An annual field day or other special days for different interest groups have provided one means of distributing information to many people at one time. Substation No. 6 at Denton started a series of special days in 1921 which have continued to the present time. Very large crowds attended these days during the 1920’s as indicated by the ‘ars at a field day at Denton in 1924 and truck transporta- tion of groups of farmers at McGregor in 1962 (Figures 34A and 34B). A wheat demonstration plot is shown in Figure 34C. The number of visitors at the Denton field days and on other occasions for the period 1921 to 1935 is given below: Number of visitors at Texas Substation No. 6, Denton Year Field Day Others Total 1921 1,125 1,125 1922 1,238 1,238 1923 1,200 872 2,072 1924 1,600 1,600 D 1925 1,000 461 1,461 1926 2,000 562 2,562 1927 1,500 510 2,010 1928 2,000 987 2,987 1929 2,000 786 2,786 1930 1,500 1,149 2,649 1931 1,121 1,121 1932 945 945 1933 1,000 300 1,300 1934 250 742 992 1935 1,500 1,099 2,597 Fairs and Demonstrations County, area, and state fairs were established in many communities soon after they were settled. The earliest noted was in 1852 at Corpus Christi. Ellis County held fairs before the Civil War. The sixth annual fair was held at Austin in 1880, indicating that the first must have been held in 1875 (Barkley, 12). The Dallas State Fair was started in 1886. Director Connell states (38) that Texas A&M College displayed 81 samples of oats, 56 samples of ‘wheat, 11 samples of barley, and 4 samples of rye at the State Fair in 1895. Probably the most striking display of agricultural prod- ucts was that at the Fort Worth Spring Palace of 1889 and 1890 (Figure 35). This giant building was constructed of rain and forage products on a wooden framework and designed for the display of crops and vegetables from all "' parts of Texas. It was planned and promoted by Robert A. Cameron, Commissioner of Immigration for the Fort Worth and Denver Railroad. A week’s celebration and show cul- minated in a great ball attended by 7,000 people from all parts of the state. On the last night of the 1890 fair, the Palace caught fire, supposedly from a discarded cigarette, and burned down in a few minutes. Fortunately only one person was killed, but others were injured (Paddock, 88). After 1900, most counties had fairs for exhibiting crop and livestock, and many area fairs were organized. During modern times, rapid and diverse means of news- paper, telephone, radio, television, and county extension services have reduced the importance of fairs as a means of education in agriculture. However, there is still regional recognition of agriculture’s importance. The principal wheat producing area, the High Plains, has held a wheat pageant each season since 1946. Held at Perryton, Ochiltree County, in August each year the pageant consists of pa- rades, programs, and exhibits, culminating in the coro- nation of a Wheatheart of the Nation. Cities, counties, and areas of Texas and nearby Oklahoma and New Mexico enter talented and beautiful girls in the contest. Various means of “taking the meassage” to the people were used during the period of settlement and establish- ment of crop production in Texas. The Santa Fe Railroad published a magazine, The Earth (50), from 1904 to 1938, which gave information on crops from Texas to California. The demonstration fields established by rail companies (see section “Rolling Plains”) and the field days had one purpose in common: to demonstrate the value of the area for settlement. Later the emphasis shifted to “improve- ment” and “extension” of the bounty of the land. Current wheat production is one success story of that emphasis. 59 60 Figure 34A: Cars at a field day at Denton, Texas, Sub- station No. 6, in 1924. Figure 34B: Transporting visitors at a field day at McGregor in 1962. Figure 34C: A farm wheat demonstration of varieties at Plainview, Texas, in 1968. . Figure 35: The Fort Worth Spring Palace. (Courtesy Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas.) Texas A&M University, Agricultural Experiment Station Personnel Making Important Contributions 1918-1925 1926-1938 1936-1955 1954-1969 1949-1956 1953-1961 1963-1968 1968-1974 1968-date 1965-date 1962-date 1938-date 1946-1976 to Small Grains Research Department of Agronomy and Main Station Farm, College Station A. H. Leidigh, small grains leader. P. C. Mangelsdorf, agronomist, corn and small grain. E. S. McFadden, agronomist, U. S Department of Agriculture I. M. Atkins, section leader, small grains, flax. George W. Rivers, agronomist. M. C. Futrell, pathologist, rust research, U. S. Department of Agriculture. R. A. Kilpartrick, pathologist, U. S. Department of Agriculture. Francis Gough, pathologist, U. S. Department of Agriculture. Earl C. Gilmore, agronomist, wheat research. Robert Toler, pathologist, wheat diseases. Lloyd C. Rooney, cereal chemist. Texas Substation No. 1, Beeville, Texas Lucas Reyes, agronomist. Texas Substation N0. 4, Temple, Texas M. J. Norris, agronomist. 1911-15 1917-1921 1922-1947 1930-1954 1946-1952 1952-date 1946-1971 1953-1958 1958-1960 1951-1958 1929-1972 1946-date 1925-1961 1955-date 1938-1945 1947-date 1951-date 1951-1954 1965-date Texas Substation No. 6, Denton, Texas T. W. Buell, superintendent. C. H. McDowell, superintendent. P. O. Dunkle, superintendent. I. M. Atkins, agronomist, U. S. Department of Agriculture. M. J. Norris, agronomist. J. H. Gardenhire, agronomist. D. I. Dudley, superintendent. D. E. Weibel, agronomist, U. S. Department of Agriculture. E. C. Gilmore, agronomist, U. S. Department of Agriculture. Harvey Chada, entomologist, U. S. Department of Agriculture. Nolan Thurmond, foreman. Eugene Wilkenson, technician. Texas Substation No. 12, Chillicothe J. R. Quinby, superintendent. K. A. Lahr, agronomist U. S. Great Plains Research Station, Bushland David A. Reid, agronomist. K. B. Porter, agronomist. p Norris Daniels, entomologist. Texas Agricultural Extension Service Fred Dines, Extension agronomist. Frank Petr, Extension agronomist. 61 10. 11. 14. r-d Ox r-l \I 19. 20. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 62 LITERATURE CITED American Agriculturalist. Published 1843 to date, Saxton and Miles, New York, N.Y. 7:337, 1848; 161173, 1857; 32:334, 1873. Archambeau, Ernest R. 1966. Panhandle Plains Hist. Rev. 39: 1-205. Items from the Tascosa Pioneer, 1886. Arneson, Edwin P. 1922. Early irrigation systems in Texas. Southwest Historical Quarterly 25: 121-130. Ashford, Gerald. 1971. Spanish Texas. Jenkins Pub. Co., N. Y. Atkins, I. M. and R. G. Dahms. 1947. Reaction of small grain varieties to greenbug attack. U. S. Dept. Agr. Tech. Bull. 901. Atkins, I. M. and M. C. Futrell. 1958. Diseases of small grains in Texas. Texas Agr. Expt. Sta. Bull. 921. Atkins, I. M. 1938. Relation of certain plant characters to strength of straw and lodging in winter wheat. Jr. Agr. Res. 56:99-120. Atkins, I. M., K. B. Porter, O. G. 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The Far Western frontier, a re- port of a trip through Texas in 1831. Originally printed by‘ the London Geographical Society in 1831. Reprinted by th Arno Press, New York, N. Y. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. O93. 94. Hutto, John R. 1933. The German and Catholic colony of Marienfield. West Texas Hist. Yrbook 9:24-30. Johnson, Leah. 1976. St. Anthony’s town. The Naylor Co. San Antonio, Tex. Revision of a 1947 edition. Jackson, George. 1908. Seventy years in Texas. Wilkenson Printing Co., Dallas, Tex. Johnson, Wm. Preston. 1878. The life of Albert Sidney John- son, 1831-1899. D. Appleton Co., 1979. Reprinted by The Texas Univ. Press, Austin, Tex. 1964. Jordan, Terry G. 1966. German seed in Texas soil. Univ. of Texas Press, Austin, Tex. Kelly, J. Charles. 1953. The historic Indian Pueblos of La Junta de los Rios. New Mexico Hist. Rev. 27:257-260. Leonard, Warren H. 1963. Cereal Crops. The McMillan Co., New York, N. Y. Linn, John J. 1935. Reminiscences of fifty years in Texas. Originally published by the D. & J. Sadler Co., New York, N. Y. A fascimile reproduction of the original by the Steck Company of Austin, Tex. Lowrie, Walter and Mathew St. Clair Clarke. 1832. Historical sketches of the several Indian tribes of Louisiana and Texas. American State Papers, Class 2, 1:721-743. Explorations of Dr. John Sibley. May, Irvin M. 1972. Charles Bruce Richardson-an East Texas example of diversified farming in the 1865-86 period. East Texas Hist. Jour. 10:31-40. McConnell, Joseph Carrol. 1933. The West Texas Frontier. Gazette Printers, J acksboro, Tex. McCormick, Cyrus Hall. 1931. The century of the reaper. Houghton Mifflin Co.. New York. N. Y. McFadden, E. S. and E. R. Sears. 1946. The origin of Triti- cum spelta and its free-threshing relatives. Jr. Heredity 37: 81-89 and 37:107-116. Miller, Henry W. 1953. Pioneering in North Texas. The Nay- lor Co., San Antonio, Tex. Morrison, Samuel Elliot. 196 3. Journals and other documents of the life and voyages of Christopher Columbus. The Heri- tage Press, New York, N. Y. Muir, Andrew Forest. 1958. Texas in 1837. Univ. of Texas Press, Austin, Tex. Nall, Gary L. 1972. The farmer’s frontier in the Texas Panhandle. Panhandle Plains Hist. Rev. 45 :1-20. Nall, Gary L. 1973. Panhandle farming in the golden era of American agriculture. Panhandle Plains Hist. Rev. 46:68-93. Nall, Gary L. 1975. Specialization and expansion: Panhandle farming in the 1920’s. Panhandle Plains Hist. Rev. 48:46-68. Neal, Bill. 1966. The last frontier: the story of Hardeman County. Quanah Tribune Chief, Southwest Offset Press. Neighbors, K. Franklin. 1975. Robert Simpson Neighbors and the Texas frontier, 1836-1859. The Texian Press, Waco, Tex. Olmstead, Fredrick Law. 1962. A journey through Texas or a saddle trip on the southwestern frontier in 1854. Mason Bros. New York, 1861. Reprinted Von-Boekman-Jones Press, Austin, Tex. Paddock, B. B. 1922. History of Texas: Fort Worth and the Texas northwest. The Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, Ill. Penny, Thepyl Sensing. 1974. From the dust of wagon wheels. Library Binding Co., Waco, Tex. Percival, J. 1921. The wheat plant. E. P. Dutton, New York, N. Y. Pike, Zebulon Montogomery. 1889. Exploratory travels through the western territories of North America. Editor Elliot Coues, Francis P. Harper Co. 1895. Pioneer Mills of San Antonio. History of the company. Privately printed. Quisenberry, Karl S. and L. P. Reitz. 1974. Turkey wheat: the cornerstone of an empire. Agr. Hist. 48:98-110. Rayburn, John C. 1958. Cannonading the clouds at Midland in 1891. West Texas Hist. Yrbook 34:50-66. 95. 96. 97. 98. 99. 100. 101. 102. 103. 104. 105. 106. 107. 108. 109. 110. 111. 112. 113. 114. 115. 116. 117. 118. 119. 120. 121. 122. 123. 124. Reid, John C. 1935. Reid’s tramp: a journal of ten months travel by horseback from Texas to California in 1850. Pub- lished by John Hardy Co. Reprinted by the Steck Company, Austin, Tex. Reitz, L. P. 1959. Hard red winter wheat improvement. U. S. Dept. Agr. Tech. Bull. 1192. Reitz, L. P. 1954. Wheat breeding and our food supply. Economic Botany 8 :25 1-268. Richardson, Rupert. 1963. The frontier of West Texas, 1846-1976. A. H. Clark Co., Glendale, Cal. Rogers, J. B. 1912. Wheat growing in Denton County in 1850. Denton Record-Chronicle, Oct. 11, 1912. Ross, John F. and A. H. Leidigh. 1913. Cereal experiments in the Texas Panhandle. U. S. Dept. Agr. Bur. Pl. Ind. Bull. 283. Ross, John F. and A. H. Leidigh. 1916. Cereal crops in the Panhandle of Texas. U. S. Dept. Agr. Farmers Bull. 738. Salmon, S. C., G. R. Mathews, and R. W. Leukel. 1953. A half century of wheat improvement in the United States. Advances in Agronomy 5 :3-141. Scarbrough, Clara Stearns. 1973. Land of good water. Sun Publications, Georgetown, Tex. Smithwick, Noa. 1900. The evolution of a state. Gammel Book Co., Austin, Tex. Sonnichsen, C. L. 1968. Pass of the North: Four centuries on the Rio Grande. Texas Western Press, The Univ. of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Tex. Spikes, Nellie Witt and Temple Ann Ellis. 1952. History of Crosby County. The Naylor Co., San Antonio, Tex. Stoltz, Jack. 1973. Terrell, Texas, 1873-1973. The Naylor Co., San Antonio, Tex. Taylor, Colonel Nathanial Alston. 1877. The coming empire or Two thousand miles in Texas on horseback. Published in 1877 by N. T. Carlisle, Houston, Texas. Revised edition in 1936 by Natalie Taylor Carlisle. Texas and Pacific Railroad (Now Missouri Pacific). 1896. The Texarkana gateway to Texas and the Southwest. Wood- ward and Tierman Printing Co., St. Louis, Mo. The Texas Almanac. 1859, 1867, 1869, 1883, 1904 and 1947. Published by The Dallas News, The Belo Corp., Dallas, Tex. Texas Agr. Expt. Sta. Bull. 34, 1895. Know wheat. 1956. Texas Agr. Expt. Sta. Leaflet 287. Texas Crop and Livestock Reporting Service, Austin, Tex. Small grain acreages in 1975. Bull. 228. Texas Crop and Livestock Service, Austin, Tex. 1976. Texas historic crop statistics, 1866-1975. Bull. 129. Texas State Department of Agriculture. 1930. Standards for small grain certified seed, Bull. 105. Tyler, George W. 1936. History of Bell County. The Naylor Company, San Antonio, Tex. U. S. Dept. Agr. wheat surveys. Dept. Bull. 1498, Circs. 283. 424, 634, 761, 861,; Agr. Handbook 108, Stat. Bull. 272, 369, 475. U. S. Bureau of Census for 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890and 1900. Walker, Olive Todd. 1943-44. Esther Amanda Sherrill Collin, a peioneer woman on the Texas frontier. S. W. Hist. Quar. 47:234-240. Wellman, Paul I. 1954. Glory, God and Gold. Doubleday and Company, Garden City, New York. Whitaker, Arthur P. 1927. The Spanish American Frontier. Houghton Mifflin Co. White, Alice M. 1950. History of the development of irriga- tion in the El Paso valley. Texas Western College, El Paso, Tex. Masters thesis. XIT Ranch, annual reports. Panhandle Plains Historical Museum, Canyon, Tex. Youngblood, B. 1908. Speech at the eleventh Farmers Con- gress. Texas Dept. Agr. Bull 5. 63 Oats in Texas Through Three Centuries 1731-1976 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 65 INTRODUCTION OF OATS TO THE AMERICAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 OATS IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD . . . . . . . . . . 65 Establishment of Oats as a Crop . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Oats in Central and East Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Oats in the Rolling Plains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Oats on the High Plains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 ACREAGES AND DISTRIBUTION . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 . VARIETIES OF OATS GROWN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Northern Varieties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Winter Oats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Red Rustproof Oats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7O IMPROVEMENT OF THE OAT CROP FOR BETTER ADAPTATION TO TEXAS . . . . . . 72 The Selection Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Selections From Red Rustproof . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Oat Improvement by Ferguson Seed Farms . . . . . . 72 Red Rustproof Selections From the ‘ Texas Agricultural Experiment Station . . . . . . . . . 72 Red Rustproof Selections in Other States . . . . . . . 74 Fulghum Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Burt Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Culberson Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Winter Turf Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Black-Seeded Oats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 IMPROVING OATS BY HYBRIDIZATION . . . . . . 76 Cooperative Plant Breeding Program . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Improvement of the Plant Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Breeding for Improved Cold Tolerance . . . . . . . . . 79 Breeding for High Forage Production . . . . . . . . . . , 79 Breeding for Rust Resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 The Victoria Blight Epidemic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Varieties Developed in Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 HAZARDS OF OAT PRODUCTION IN TEXAS . . 86 Drouth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 86 Low Temperatures . . . . . . . .' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Diseases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Insects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 . Weeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 88 USES OF OATS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 RESEARCH WORKERS AND CONTRIBUTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 89 LITERATURE CITED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 64 OATS IN TEXAS THROUGH THREE CENTURIES 1731-1976 Oats have not been under cultivation as long as the other cereal crops. There is no definite record to lead botanists to believe that oats were known to the ancient Chinese, Hebrew, or Hindu peoples (Stanton, 61). The common oat appears first to have been found growing wild in regions of Western Europe; from there it spread to various parts of the world. The first authentic historical notes on cultivated oats appear in writings of Columella, Diescordes, Pliny, and others of the early Christian era. These indicate that the common oat, Avena sativa L., was grown by Europeans for grain and the red oat, Avena byzantina C. Koch., for forage, particularly in Asia Minor. The general belief was that oats were probably first observed as weeds in fields of barley and later domesticated. It may have been grown by the ancient Slovakian peoples who inhabited Western Europe during the Iron and Bronze Ages. INTRODUCTION OF OATS TO THE AMERICAS Oats are not native to the Americas;like all other cereals but corn, they came into North America through two routes. The first was with Northern Europeans, who used oats as a grain and forage crop for livestock and, to a lesser extent, for human food. No doubt many of them brought seed of oats with them as they settled along the east coast to form the new Colonies. An even earlier record of introduction in North America is known. Carrier (21) quotes from a letter of a fisherman, printed in London in 1809, who stated that during a visit to Newfoundland in 1578 “I have in sundry places sowen wheate, barlei, oates and rie.” Mason (46), the U. S. Com- missioner of Patents in 1853, reported that Captain Gos- nold grew oats on Elizabeth Island, off the coast of Massa- chusetts, in 1602. Gray and Thompson (36), however, believe that the first oats were grown by the Raleigh colo- nists of Virginia in 1586, who planted a crop, but returned to England before it was harvested. The first permanent colonists of Virginia grew oats in 1607 (Gray, 36), and the Dutch settlers of Manhattan Island grew oats in 1626 (Mason, 46). George Washington wrote in his diary of 1764 that he “seeded a few oats in the fall to see if they would stand the winter.” Later, in 1786, Washington planted 580 acres of oats (Haworth, 39). Oats did not move westward until about 1730, when Pennsylvania Mennonite farmers moved into the Shennan- doah Valley and the Piedmont area (Gray, 36). Oats spread westward more slowly than other grains and, until 1839, were confined largely to the eastern states (Stanton, 61). Texas pioneers from the eastern and northern states, too, brought seed of oats and other grains, but there are few records of this. One must assume that many of the varieties grown in the East and North were introduced into Texas from 1830 to 1900. . The second path of introduction of grains into Texas was by way of the West Indies and Mexico} As Mexico and southern Texas were settled by the Spanish, corn was grown as the main food grain, but soon wheat and other grains were mentioned in accounts of the period. However, there are relatively few references to the growing of oats. Hendry (40) provides the best evidence of the use of oats in these areas. In the adobe walls of old missions, built in northern Mexico, California, and Arizona, he found both red and white colored oat seed. Atkins (14) examined adobe bricks from the ruins of “Landin Mission” built near Saltillo in 1745. Seed and spike parts of wheat and barley but no oat fragments or seed were found. All Texas missions were planned to be self-supporting, with farms on which they grew cotton and sugar cane as well as grain crops (Johnson, 43). Numerous chroniclers of these early missions mention the growing of corn, wheat, and other grains. The “other grains” may or may not have included oats. Apparently oats were not of great impor- tance in this period. Castenada (22) translated the diary of Bishop Pedro Tamaron of Durango, who visited El Paso in 1760 and reported that corn and other grain crops were cultivated. OATS IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD German and other European settlers colonized Texas from 1820 to 1890. At about the same time, Anglo- American settlers came to Texas from the eastern, northern and southeastern states by overland routes and through Gulf ports. Here again was opportunity for the introduction of oats into Texas. Stephen F. Austin (17) in his, Description 0f Texas in 1828-1833, stated that “Some experiments have been made in growing wheat, oats, barley, rye and flax and these have succeeded in the undulating country back from the Coast.” A few years later in 1840, Allen (5) in his Guide to the New Republic, advised immigrants that “of the grains, the cultivation has just begun. In the undulating and mountainous portions of the country, all the grains pro- duce in abundance. In the level parts of the country, all the grains except wheat and buckwheat may be cultivated with success.” Felix Bracht (20), who engaged in business at New Braunfels from 1845 to 1855 and traveled extensively in Texas, wrote, “All European crops, wheat, oats, barley and rye, do well in the Hill Country [Edwards Plateau] area of South Texas.” Also, Ferdinand Roemer (56), a German scientist and author who traveled statewide observed in 1847 that “Oats are grown successfully in the Colorado River Valley near Bastrop.” Crystal Ragsdale (52) recorded I These introductions are described in “Wheat for Man's Bread, Introduction, Production, and Research,” pp. 1-1 7 of this publication. 65 an interview with Mrs. Elise Willrich, a pioneer of La- Grange, who stated that wheat, oats, barley, and rye thrived in the LaGrange area. However, another opinion was expressed by Goodman (35). “They grow no oats or barley here [Leon County] as we have no use for them. The cattle, hogs and horses can feed themselves on the range throughout the year.” ESTABLISHMENT OF OATS AS A CROP Oats in Central and East Texas Starting about 1845 and accelerating after the Civil War, the settling of Central and East Texas occurred rapid- ly, with much land being put into cultivation. For example, Parker County was organized in 1856 and by 1860 had a population of 6,000 people. Likewise, Denton County was organized in 1846 and in 10 years had 600 registered voters, (Richardson, 54). W. C. Holden (42), in a review of immigration into Texas, observed that 50 wagon trains per day came through Clarksville in the fall of 1858. Small grains were the surest crop in Hill County in 1852 (Kil- patrick, 44). T. C. Conners (28) found and reproduced the report of an explorer, Edward Smith of England, who traveled in North Texas in 1849 to evaluate it for English investors. Smith observed that “Oats grow well in every county but we saw few crops because corn is preferred as a feed for livestock.” The first U. S. Agricultural Census was made in 1850 (69). At that time oat production of 199,017 bushels was reported from North Central Texas. By 1870 the acreage was only 34,000, but by 1880 it had increased to 300,000. Coinciding with the settlement of North Central Texas, the introduction of Red Rustproof oats occurred after the Civil War. These and other winter hardy varieties provided both grain and winter pasture. By 1900 the acreage had increased to 847,225, and by 1919 to 1,500,000. Oats in the Rolling Plains Settlement of the Rolling Plains area followed soon after that of North Central Texas. Some settlers arrived before the Civil War, but withdrew to more protected areas during the fighting and before the frontier forts were reestablished. The U. S. Army, in cooperation with the Texas government and Texas Rangers, established a series of forts from the Oklahoma Territory to the Rio Grande from 1846 to 1858. Many of these were abandoned during the War, and later, with others reestablished to protect West Texas settlers. The Rolling Plains was settled rapidly after 1875. Livestock production was the major industry of the Rolling Plains, but many ranches also broke out sodland along the streams to put in small acreages of feed crops. Marcy (45), who spent 30 years on the frontier of this area with the U. S. Army, recorded that Jesse Stern, the Comanche Indian Agent at Camp Cooper [about 7 miles north of historic Fort Griffin in Throckmorton County] conducted an experiment in 1853 which demonstrated that farming was practical in the area. Stern turned the sod with 66 a prairie plow and planted corn and oats. The crops were successful and produced bountiful yields of grain. Another instance of the early culture of oats occurred at the establishment of Fort Sill in 1869 (Richardson, 55). An officer, Colonel Whaley, saw an opportunity to make a profit and resigned from the Army to begin growing oats. Whaley put into cultivation land in the bend of the Wichita River in present-day Clay County and grew 15,000 to 20,000 bushels of oats each year, which he sold to Fort Sill at $1.25 per bushel. Railroads, real estate agencies, and chambers of com- merce in cities and counties promoted land sale in the Roll- ing Plains from 1875 to 1900. Descriptive folders, advertise- ments in eastern papers, and special train excursions were used to attract settlers. The Texas and Pacific Railroad established demonstration farms at Baird, Stanton, and Midland where cotton, corn, grains, fruits, and vegetables were grown to show to prospective settlers (Blacklen, 19). The Santa Fe Railroad also set up demonstrations along the right-of-way to show what crops could be grown (Earth Magazine, 32). The 1850 population of all of West Texas was only 4,412, but by 1900 had increased to 755,260. During this period an estimated 5 million acres were home- steaded in the Rolling Plains alone (Holden, 42). Oats on the High Plains Although a few small farms were established earlier, the bulk of the High Plains area was put into cultivation between 1890 and 1920. Francis Phillips2 and o. L. Nall (50) have reviewed the establishment of agriculture on the High Plains. Phillips states that the first field of oats was grown in 1878 on the T-Anchor Ranch near Canyon [Randall County] . The oats grew well but a herd of buffalo destroyed them before maturity. In his history of Old Tascosa, the forerunner of present- day Amarillo, E. P. Archambeau (7) states that Tascosa had its beginning in 1876, when Casimira Romero drove 3,000 sheep into the area from Moro County, New Mexico. Romero and his relatives settled in the Canadian River area northwest of Amarillo and established the town. (Their adobe home stood for 70 years and only recently has been razed.) In 1946, Archambeau (6) interviewed Jose Ynocen- cion Romero, a son of Casimira Romero, who recalled, “My father in 1879 planted a crop of oats in a field in order to establish alfalfa. I never saw such a crop in my life. The men cut the oats with cradles and bound it for feed.” Items from the Tascosa Pioneer, published from 1886 to 1888, were reprinted in the Dodge City Times; White (73) has made these available. An item from Mobeeti in August 1884 stated, “Those of our farmers who had an oat crop this season claim 50 to 75 bushels per acre, but there is no way to prove it as we have no threshers. There is no doubt that small grain is the crop for this country.” L. F. Sheffy (58) has made available information from 2 Phillips, Francis 1946. The development of agriculture in the Panhandle-Plains of Texas to 1920. Unpublished MS. thesis, West Texas State Teachers College, Canyon, Texas. the records of the Franklyn Land and Cattle Company, an nglish-owned ranch which operated from 1882 until 957. This ranch occupied parts of three counties with headquarters at White Deer. In 1882 B. B. Groom, manager, wrote the owners for permission to plant oats and wheat. he next summer he reported growing 5,000 bushels of oats. The Texas Almanac of 1883 (63), in an article entitled “Report on the Texas Panhandle,” states that corn and oats were grown in Crosby County in 1880. Records of the XIT Ranch3 near Dalhart show that oats were seeded in 5-acre fields on all four divisions of the ranch from 1886 to 1889. The 1886 crop was successful but the others were failures. Oats were also grown in Carson County in 1896 (Randell, 53). The U. S. Department of Agriculture established experi- ment stations at Dalhart and Amarillo in 1906 and tested oats there from 1906 to 1916 (Ross, 57). During these early years, only spring-type or non-hardy winter-type varieties were available, and in general the crop was not successful. In modern times more cold-tolerant varieties are available and can be fall-sown for grain, winter pasture, and hay. ACREAGES AND DISTRIBUTION Annual estimates of acreages and production of crops for Texas began in 1866 (Figure 1A). Prior to 1926 only ncluded both seeded and harvested acreages. Seeded and harvested acreages vary greatly from one season to another, being influenced by several factors. Data for the period 1866 to 1975 have recently been published by the Texas Crop and Livestock Reporting Service (65). Averages by 5-year periods were computed (Table 1). Oats have been used for winter pasture for livestock, as well as for grain, since the introduction of the Red Rust- proof strains after the Civil War. Usually livestock were removed from the fields about March 1, and the crop was allowed to mature a grain crop. In the 1930’s there began a trend to graze an increasing proportion of the crop to maturity or until it was killed. The crop was often more valuable for grazing to fill in the period from late winter until permanent pastures were available. Small grain forage provided a high quality feed for breeding herds or for young animals. Another trend began in eastern Texas at this time to reduce the acreage of row crops and return land to permanent or supplemental grass pastures. Other factors influencing this trend to graze oats to maturity were the use of tractors to replace draft animals, the introduction of hybrid corn and sorghum, and the develop- ent of varieties with greater forage producing potential. The largest acreage of oats ever planted in Texas was 2,834,999 acres sown in 1955. Of this only 45 percent, or 1,283,000 acres, was harvested. The unharvested acreage “planted acreages were recorded; after this date, reports Records 0f the XIT Ranch 0n file in Archives 0f the anhandle Plains Museum, Canyon, Texas. included that grazed to maturity and that lost to winter killing, to drouth, to diseases, and to insects. From 1959 to 1975 the harvested acreage was low. The lowest per- centage ever harvested for grain was in 1971 when only 9 percent (222,000 acres) was harvested from that seeded (2,359,000 acres). Production of oat grain reached a peak in 1919, when 62,205,000 bushels were produced. Other years of high production were 1926 with 57,086,000 bushels and 1931 with 61,435,000 bushels. These peak periods occurred when draft animals were the source of power on the farm, and oats were fed to all classes of livestock and poultry. Production of grain dropped to an average of 16,853,000 bushels for the period 1966 to 1975. By contrast, the average production from 1916 to 1930 was 36,114,600 bushels. The distribution of oat acreage for 1879, 1909, and 1975 is shown in Figures 1B, 1C, and 1D. In 1879 the acreage was all in East and Central Texas; by 1909 grain was still largely centered in the eastern parts but had spread to the Rolling Plains and to a lesser extent, to the High Plains. From 1930 to 1975, oats distribution in Texas has changed little. VARIETIES OF OATS GROWN Northern Varieties Relatively little is known about the oat varieties grown in Texas during the colonization period 1830 to 1870. Where oats are mentioned, they are referred to only as a crop. Most of the immigrants to the United States came from northern Europe where the common spring-type oat, Avena sativa L., was then grown. This type is generally not cold or drouth tolerant and probably was not very satisfac- tory in Texas. The Country Gentleman, a national farm magazine first published in Philadelphia in 1853, and American Agricul- turalist, published from 1843 to date, have numerous letters, articles, and advertisements which give clues as to what was grown or available. These early magazines men- tion the varieties Siberian, Black Tartar, Scotch Imperial, Sunrise, and Probsteier. A Philadelphia farmer wrote in 1872 that he grew seven kinds of oats, namely, Common, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Norway, Surprise, Nova Scotia and Scotch Potato (Dunton, 31). R. Von Olinda (70) reported in 1867 that Surprise oats was selected from a sample of wheat obtained from the Patent Office. The editor of the Country Gentleman reported in 1856 that Poland oats should be named Dutch or Friezeland, that Siberian oats had recently been introduced, and that Black Tartarian originated from a single head found in other oats (Tucker, 67). The editor described seed of Black Tartar as glossy black and weighing 36 pounds per bushel, but pointed out that J. A. Clark, Marion, Ohio, grew black oats from France which weighed 48 pounds per bushel. In 1859 the editor reported on growing oats in the South, suggesting California white oats or Prince Edward Island black oats as the best varieties. For winter grazing, he suggested Egyptian oats 67 TEXAS OAT ACREAGE I Thouu nd Acres phmod _ _ _ __ harvested 3,000 _ 15o ,'\_,' 1866 1880 1895 1910 1925 1940 1955 1970 1985 Figure 1A: Texas oat acreage, 1866-1975. (Courtesy State Department of Agriculture.) Figure IC: Distribution of oats in Texas in 1909. Each dot represents 2,000 acres. (Constructed from figures in the United States Census of 1910, Vol. 3,Agriculture pp. 678- 700) 68 Figure 1B: Distribution of oats in Texas in 1879. Each dot represents 2,000 acres. (Constructed from figures in the United States Census of 1880, Vol. 3,Agriculture pp. 205- 20s.) OATS ACRES PLANTED 1975 1 clot = 1,000 acres Figure ID: Planted acreage of oats in Texas, 1975. (Cour- tesy Texas State Department of Agriculture.) .000 0.5::0C0< 00 EQEEXFQ mwxoh 500500.. 000000.00 0~ A 000.m00.0~ v .00 000.000 0004004 0552 0004013 E0 000.0500 0A0 00v.m00 000.00»; 050000 00048.3 v50 000.0012 3a 000.05. 000.000.m 00-0000 000.v00.0~ 00 .0 000.000.0m 0 .0m 000.000 A 000.0m0.m 00-0000 Swami: 00.0 80x33.“ 0.8 000.0004 000.0004 00-002 000.0~04m 00.0 000.0>m.0m 0.0m 000.v0m4 08.90.: 00-002 83.002 00.0 00m.0§\0m 0mm 000.0004 00v.mm0.~ 00-3000 000K802 00.0 000.0E..00 0.0m 000.000 A 000.00.»; 00-0000 000400.: 0m.0 00m.>00.0v 0.0m 000.0004 000.0004 00A00~ 000.>0m.0~ 0Y0 000000.00 1mm 8&5“; 0000C“; 00-0m0~ 800.002: ~00 000000.00 m.0m 000.0004 $-82 000.000 5 0» .0 000.0055 0.0m 000.0004 0m-0~0~ 000.000.: 00.0 000.m0v.0m 001m 000.m00 07:2 000.000 .0 v0 .0 000000.00 #8 000.000 07002 000000.00 0Nm 000.00» 00-0000 00v.0mv.0m 0.00 000.000 00070000 000400.00 0.0m 08.90 00-0000 8048.2 0am 000.000 00-0000 000N000 0.0m 0000.010 00-000 000m? .0 m 3 00m .0mm 00-050 000.00~.m 0.0m 000.0» 0.01-2.2 000.000 0 .0m 000.m0 . .. 0W000~ 50:00 @0230 297:0 03m 0232a: 0335mm 03020 025m 5030:0000 40.050 $0 8E 5030:0000 $0 03; 00033.0 00.0003... 00 0:_@> 003020 002.60 *wo0_mm.: 505-0 >0 MDA<> OZ< ZOEUDOOMQ HEM; 005E000 05m? Z0 0H~--..Jr-.\\“*\~ \=2_a=="" Figure 7C: J. H. Gardenhire, agronomist and plant breeder, Figure 7D: Small grain nursery at Texas Substation No. 6 with sheaf of new variety, Norwin, developed under his Denton, Texas, 1931. leadership. 80 ~ Figure 8: Aerial view of Texas Substation No. 6, Denton, Texas, 1956, showing extensive small grain breeding nur- series. 81 M; Figure 9A: Lodging of Red Rustproof oat strains at Den- ton, Texas, 1936. Figure 9C: Oat varieties representing an erect, spring growth habit (left); intermediate winter growth habit (center); and prostrate growing winter type (right). 82 Figure 9B: Forage produced by oat varieties may be clipped to determine the relative production and season of highest production. Figure 9D: Livestock grazing oats for winter pasture at Prairie View, Texas, 1954. Breeding for Rust Resistance In 1930 a number 0f introduced varieties provided germ plasm for an expanded oat improvement program to de- velop adapted rust resistant varieties. Bond (Australia); Victoria, Santa Fe, Berger, and Alber (Argentina); Trispernia (Germany); and others were used extensively in crosses. As races changed, it was necessary to search for new sources of resistance or combine resistance from older sources in order to protect the crop from rust damage. Varieties released in Texas, which provided protec- tion for a period of time included Fultex, Ranger, Rustler, Verde, Alamo, Alamo-X, Mustang, Bronco, Houston, Nor- win, Cortex, Coronado, and, recently, TAM 0-301 and O-312. Rust resistant varieties developed in other states and grown in Texas include Fulgrain, Victorgrain, Sure- grain, Moregrain, Oro, Nora, and Coker 234. Control of crown (leaf) rust of oats through a continuing series of varieties with different genes or combination of genes for resistance was effective until the late l960’s. New races then evolved in nature which could attack, to some degree, all cultivated varieties of oats in the United States. In cooperation with research personnel in Israel, an exten- sive search was made in the Middle East for rust resistance among the wild species of Avena, as rust disease is prevalent throughout that area. Nature has by process of natural selection produced strains with higher degrees of rust resis- tance or tolerance. Resistance was particularly marked in the wild hexaploid oat, Avena sterilis. Many strains were brought to the United States, tested, and isolated as highly resistant to various races. These were then made available to plant breeders and commercial companies. By crossing, backcrossing, selection and reselection, utilizing green- houses, and summer double-cropping for increase, M. E. McDaniel developed the new varieties TAM O-301 and TAM O-312 in only 5 years (49). Personnel in other states also developed varieties with crown rust resistance from A. sterilis. The value of such research to growers and consumers alike is not easily measured, but there is no doubt that new resistant varie- ties can prevent widespread rust epidemics and thereby increase crop production. Breeding for stem rust resistance has not been as success- ful as that for leaf rust resistance. Most sources of resistance to stem rust were found in the spring oat varieties of Avena sativa, grown in nrothern states. These have been difficult to successfully transfer for use in the South. Also, races of stem rust have changed frequently. Texas varieties released with some resistance to stem rust include Alamo, Alamo-X, Verde, Houston, Cortex, Coronado, and TAM O-301. The Victoria Blight Epidemic Breeding to incorporate disease resistance into oat varie- ties suffered a disastrous setback soon after Victoria was introduced. Victoria Blight, a new disease caused by a new species of Helminthosporium, was either introduced with Victoria or, if already present in soils, was stimulated by 9 Descriptions 0f these new varieties are given by McDaniel (48, 49). the presence of highly susceptible varieties. Crown rust re- sistance in Victoria was closely linked with Victoria Blight susceptibility; therefore, all varieties with Victoria leaf rust resistance were subject to damage or killing by blight. Victoria Blight caused widespread serious damage to oats. Although initially less important in the fall-sown oat area, Victoria Blight finally forced abandonment of Victoria-derived varieties throughout the United States. Breeding work to incorporate other sources of resistance to rust and Victoria Blight were initiated. Fultex, Alamo, Ranger, Rustler, Fulgrain, Victorgrain, Stanton, and other southern varieties were often damaged by Victoria Blight when grown on infected soil. In 1940 Southern breeders turned to Bond, Landhafer, Trispernia, and other sources of crown rust resistance. The new varie- ties Southland, Suregrain, Moregrain, Midsouth, Ora, and Nora were developed in these programs. Mustang and Bron- co were more tolerant to blight than some varieties and continued in production for a time, especially in the colder regions of Texas. Alamo-X was developed by irradiaton of Alamo and proved more winter hardy as well as resistant to crown rust and Victoria Blight (Atkins, 13). Varieties Developed in Texas During the past 6O years of plant breeding in Texas, the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture has developed or released a total of l7 new varieties for use by growers (Table 2). In addition to these, new varieties developed in adjoining states or by commercial seed companies have been tested and released to Texas growers by the Founda- tion Seed Section. No official census of the oat varieties grown in Texas has ever been made but an estimate is presented in Table 3. The Red Rustproof strains, largely Ferguson 922 and 71, and Nortex and New Nortex dominated the acreage from 1875 to 1955. Since the latter date, varieties developed in the breeding programs of Texas and other states have dominated the acreage. The introductions, pedigrees, and parental relationships of most of the varieties grown in Texas since 1890 are shown in Figure l0. TABLE 2. IMPROVED VARIETIES OF OATS DEVELOPED AND RELEASED IN TEXAS IN THE COOPERATIVE RE- SEARCH PROGRAM OF THE TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EX- PERIMENT STATION AND THE UNITED STATES DEPART- MENT OF AGRICULTURE Year released Variety Parents of cross or crosses 1926 Frazier 1926 Nortex Pure-line selection from Fulghum Pure-line selection from Texas Red Rust proof Pure-line selection from Texas Red Rust- proof 1936 New Nortex 1O The author in cooperation with other researchers and members of the trade made the estimate. 83 C _ 000C. 0.0 00 200-008 C000 JCQJQCNQmOC 00.00 £0500 05 . 0002050 .020, w m m m m m. m m m. 0C 0C 0C 0C 0C 0C 0C E050 m C. . 2m DE<.C. C. C. m m m. m m. 0C m 00C. 0000C? C #0053 w C. =€E22> C. C. C. w w 0C 0C wm a. wm mm 00 8 0C. 000E CC C002 06C. u C. Emmi 536:5 Iv-lv-(v-MCQX m w C C. ECoZPC. C C m. C. C w C. 0002i C. C v C. 000000 0C 0C 0C m C. E0 C. 0.5202 -—4 -—< C F‘ #1 v-l C. C SC x3002 C. m mm 0w mC C. x3002 0C m C. E02 m C 0m mm a. 00 0C C. x3002 302 C. @5222 000E302 C. 20:00 C. 22200 a N m 2 2 2 2 m N E2292 m m m i .0500 Ch. .C®®@®JCO@ m m m i 8m @250 C. C. C. 00m. 820050 C. C. m m 0C 0m 8 2 C. 0.00 03090.0 C. m m 0C mC mC 0C 0C m C» comswhoh m. m m m 00200100 w m C. $0.000 0C m C. 00000000 8 C. v8 00x00 C. Nam 000-00 C. C. C C 000000.00 C. C 050080 C. C m. m m m. m 0.5m m v C. 0000.5 i°°°£ -—4 <1‘ -—< OD 5!. OlfNv—4@3 i!) (N d) Ol-flv-eol I!) l!) C. m i i i N 0 C. C 530C300 C C C .C .. .. .507. . .. 2-0502 v m C. 0E0C< 010-~-—~ w r-l h E—' m>0C 000C n02 000C $2 002 $2 000C 002 000C $2 000C 22 0COC n02 000C 200C002» *m.\.0C-000C .mo>O~C0 wmCCHMC~C<> .C.> __@S_2m 82 .235 . “.5955 2.2. F.»_m>> om M32 _ou.xo.>. . 2.652.”. tam. cow._mn.:Q >451. 2 on»... .552: . ._mm._mm comhfiEo “m2... \ 262M530 Q2 S26E50 . 2.5a?“ cotmczo u. Q mmmp Scwctmw . 6322...“... . / 82 dctcomh< . 62.3. \ on“... @969,‘ . w“. mpcww .82.... ==§=<|A m=5._2=“_ 5s; ¢m2 .~__2:=< - 96m NP K2 @3026 0.00 _2omo.-u:om wNmF mcwcmmha. . mto~2> wzfQwm ~q Uuflzflm CQGNMCQQ ._QQ_UQvT-on* o wcom “$.00 uacwr< _ ... 2E5 mwéw .0 . . . manta. Qowwc m:o~u.> “. w 50 02.9w cotzfiw mtg“... “So umm . mcowuzuobc. c253. 25.02 =9.2___.< mflmso /\ x 5mm... 3|. E954. tab wctwmzwm B~E>> / Emwwmww 2 I mEmzrht... N@QE%O N._m.~m%“. .82. 22.23 . . zfiwn. Emma \ ucom SQ. H P méewullA .>.<.. 5 ucw...o.“. Etwzucm. $£< c._m.mm._o.>. 920.“. mow 8.2.9:“. 3-2. oom 2“. Efim._owo.> / otm>w . 2 mmm 9m. 2.3825. >3 2m $100 33:. wmwm0m\m. xw .82. n2“. B0533. 2m... >oc.:O cum . 0524 mpocmv. .>.<... K x oE2< @:o.b.> 32.2 us“. “$2.8 aqua .4 6.35m 66w: . m 25> 59am 2.8 “Em c8652 $2 wwmzflamkw. =8sazl . fl 82 esazw 202$ 12.25.“. / mb> 32 _mu.._..< .8 . min... pm . E - Em 32 _muc9_“. fiwcmow 8.. xmtoz x352 vamp 60:2“. . mmumws. xufim t. . q... m“. mwcmw v3.5“. . 5E5“. 5.02 Q8 =6 v5.3“... .85 2.22 2o cm c - .6 .5 um ~mtoo V \‘|‘|\.3msu:m.. S2 u . m "mfiomuvwuwflc. oumcohov f xmtoz >52 mm ._m_~.~.< / A. . 2: ...< . Sm _ E. 2.... 9E mm N8 .9“. l mm K .98 l \ \ \ \ mm uwm mzwo mm 3t“; mm .2930 mm mE.E\m_< Mm o2 vpooiwwsm uwm m cwwm... \ \ \ , uJuQ :20...- ._mv.c:._m $3: 1m IIFI I T - - - b - z . - E2 82 S2 $2 82 82 o F2 82 :2 TABLE 2. (Continued.) 1938 Fultex Fulghum x Victoria 1940 Ranger Nortex x Victoria 1940 Rustler Nortex x Victoria 1943 Verde Ranger sib. x Victoria-Richland, 5542-1 1950 Mustang Winter Fulghum x Victoria 1954 Alamo Fultex sib. x Victoria-Hajira-Banner, 4019 1956 Bronco Winter Fulghum x Victoria 1962 Alamo-X Mutation- irradiated seed of Alamo 1965 Houston (Fulwin-Lee-Victoria x (Red Rustproof x Victoria-Richland) x (Bond-Rainvow- Hajira-Joanette x Landhafer) Colo-Wintok, 5118 x Hajira-Joanette x (Atlantic-Clinton-Santa Fe) (Santa Fe x Clinton-Sac 2x Hajira- Joanette, C.I. 6671) 4x New Nortex x Landhafer 5x (Black Mesdag x Ab.101 , 1967 Norwin 1969 Coronado C.I. 7650) 1969 Cortex do. 1974 TAM O-301 Ab 555/3/Ora/63C3858-4-2/Ora/P.I. 295919 1974 TAM 0-312 Ab.555/3/Ora/63C3858-4-2/2/Alamo-X/ P.I. 296244 HAZARDS OF OAT PRODUCTION IN TEXAS The three major hazards of oat production in Texas are drouth, low temperature injury, and disease. All are unpre- dictable and may cause serious damage in any season. Insects are a potential hazard, but damage to oats has been less than for other cereals. Drouth Both the amount and distribution of rainfall are serious hazards of production for all crops in Texas. In the Central and the Rolling Plains areas of Texas, the months of April, May, and October receive the highest average rainfall but on the High Plains, the months of greatest rainfall are June and July. Drouth periods most seriously affecting oats occur in the fall, interfering with seeding and crop establishment, and in the March-April period when the grain crop is head- ing. Past years when drouth most seriously affected re- search and oat production in Texas were 1912, 1918, 1925, 1940, 1949, 1951, 1956, and 1959. Local areas may have been damaged in other years. Low Temperatures Spring-type oat varieties are damaged to varying degrees by temperatures of 2OO-32OF. Damage by low temperatures and by disease probably prevented oats from becoming a satisfactory crop during the Colonial period. When the winter-type varieties were introduced, they not only usually survived fall seeding, but also provided winter pasture and grain. Winterkilling of the small grains in Texas is influenced by variety, degree of hardening before the freeze, soil 86 moisture and fertility, and temperature fluctuations. A,‘ rapid drop in temperature is usually more damaging t crops than a gradual decline. The area damaged by winter- killing and the severity of damage vary greatly by seasons. Following are some examples of serious losses by winter- ’“\ killing of oats in Texas: Widespread damage in 1916, 1928, 1930, 1931, 1933, 1935, 1943, 1947 (estimated at 250,000 acres killed), 1948 estimated at 400,000 acres killed), 1962 and 1963 (estimated at 1,163,000 acres). Less widespread damage occurred in several other years. In addition to winterkilling, damage by late spring freezes occurred in 1931, 1932, 1939, 1943 and other years. Oat varieties grown in Texas may be grouped into three classes based on inherent cold tolerance and, to some ex- tent, growth habit: Prostrate seedling growth habit with high toler- ance to cold. Varieties: Mustang, Bronco, Nor- win, Wintok, Cimmaron, Walken, the Winter Fulghums. Semi-erect seedling growth with moderate cold tolerance. Varieties: Red Rustproof strains, Arkwin, Alamo-X, Nora, Ora, Moregrain, Fulghum strains, and others. Upright seedling growth with limited cold toler- ance. Varieties: Suregrain, Houston, Florida 500, TAM 0-301, TAM 0-312, Coker 227 and Coker 234, Cortex, Coronado. Within each class there is a range of cold tolerance, and varieties may rank differently in tolerance under different environmental conditions. Cold tolerance and plant type are inherited characters, which the plant breeder can mani- pulate, and efforts continue to combine the best plant type with adequate cold tolerance for various oat-producing areas in Texas. Diseases The more important diseases which may attack oats in Texas causing minor or serious losses are leaf (crown) rust, stem rust, Victoria Blight, smut, septoria, and yellow dwarf. The rusts rank first in potential losses to the oat crop because infection frequently takes place in the fall in South Texas and Mexico and, under favorable conditions, may develop into major epidemics spreading throughout Texas and into Northern states (Figures 11A and 11B). Listed below are years of disease attacks: Crown rust, serious damage: 1920, 1934, 1935, 1938,1941,1949. Crown rust, local damage: 1919, 1921, 1926, 1939,1940,1950,1957,1964. Stem rust, serious damage: 1920, 1935, 1949, 1950, 1964. Stem rust, local damage: 1919, 1921, 1926, 1934, 1938, 1940. Victoria Blight damage: 1945, 1946, 1947, 1955. Septoria damage: 1945, 1957. Figure 11A: Leaf diseases of oats: (Left to right) Normal Figure 11B: A field of oats completely destroyed by leaf leaf, and leaves infected with septoria, mildew, crown rust, (crown) rust at College Station, Texas, 1955. and stem rust, respectively. .gure 11C: Oat plants damaged by Helminthosporium Figure 11D: Wild and feral oats growing along roadside in "qht. Normal plant at left. Texas. 87 Losses in some seasons are a major factor in farm econ- omy. For example, the losses from the rusts amounted to 17.9 percent of the crop or 6,098,000 bushels in 1950 and 10.6 percent or 5,138,000 bushels in 1958. Serious damage from leaf rust is demonstrated in Figure 11B. There is no practical means of control of these air-borne leaf diseases other than developing resistant varieties. During the past 40 years, an aggressive program to provide resistant varie- ties of oats to growers has been maintained by the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station in cooperation with the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Breeding for resistance to disease is complicated by the fact that many diseases are made up of different biotypes or races (similar to a variety in crop plants). These races may increase or decrease in prevalence, and new races may develop in nature. Therefore, an oat variety may temporari- ly be disease resistant but later succumb to a new race. For example, from 1930 to 1950 varieties derived from Victoria were highly resistant to leaf rust races in Texas, but then became susceptible to new races which became prevalent. The resistance of Landhafer was effective for a time; later that of Trispernia was effective. More recently, resistance from Avena sterilis has been used in the breeding programs to develop the varieties TAM 0-301, TAM 0-312, Coker 234,‘and Coker 227. This source was effective in protecting the crop until 1976 but a new race then developed which could attack this source of resistance. The damage caused by rust and Helminthosporium blight is shown in Figure 11C. Insects Oats are probably damaged less by insects than most crops. The greenbug, an aphid which can reproduce at low temperatures of the winter months, often causes local and sometimes widespread damage to oats and other cereals. This and other aphids may transmit a virus causing the Yellow Dwarf disease. Very serious and widespread damage was caused by aphids in 1907, 1921, 1922, and 1942 (Atkins, 8). The 1942 outbreak spread from Central Texas to Central Oklahoma and destroyed an estimated 62 million bushels of grain. Serious damage to wheat occurred in Northwest Texas in 1950 and 1951 (Chada, 24). Other aphids, spider mites, army worms, chinchbugs, and other insects may cause less widespread and serious damage. Weeds Probably the most serious weed species of oats is the wild oat, Avena Fatua L.. As oats are not native to the Americas, it is assumed that the wild species was brought in with the cultivated crop. Some references to wild oats pre- date the settlement of the area. Whether the writers saw wild grass species resembling oats or the wild oats were actually there, is unknown (Figure 11D). A pioneer woman, Esther Collins, visited Robertson’s colony on the Brazos in 1837 and observed that “The men 11 A more extensive discussion 0f oat diseases is given in another publication (Atkins and Fu trell, 11). 88 were interested in the tall, luxuriant grasses, four feet tall,_ that covered the Brazos River botton near Marlin, especial’ the wild oats and wild rye” (Walker, 71). Another earl} observer of wild oats found them on the tributaries of the Brazos (Bealy, 18). There is speculation as to how these supposed “wild oats” got there before the area was settled One theory is that they were inadvertently left by early Spanish explorers who traveled through the Brazos area in establishing the first East Texas missions in 1690. Later, in 1759, the Parilla Expedition went from San Antonio north to punish the Apache Indians for destroying the San Saba Mission. They found the French fort, now called Old Spanish Fort, on the Red River. One could theorize that a few oats, including perhaps a few seeds of wild oats, were lost along the way (Allen, 4). The Spanish loved their horses and took great pride in keeping them in good condi- tion. Perhaps a few handfuls of oats were in the saddlebags or a few bags might have slipped onto the pack mules. Even a few grains of wild oats, escaped at that time, would have had 150 years to become established. The leader of the French socialist colony established at Dallas in 1853 reported in 1851, after exploring the area, that “I found a superior richness in the soil, wild oats and numerous grasses” (Hammond, 38). Oats could have come in an earlier French exploration in 1719, when, while transporting 25 families up the Red River from Natchitoches, Louisiana, French explorers took wheat seed and planted it at the site of what was later called the Old Spanish Fort (McConnell, 47). Perhaps there were kernels of wild oats in the wheat seed. Again, this is only theory. Wild oats growing along the roadside ir Denton County are shown in Figure 11D. USES OF OATS Nearly all the oat grain produced in Texas is used for home livestock feed or is sold to local mills; 85 percent of United States production of oat grain is used for feed (Stan- ton, 61). Oats make one of the best concentrate feeds for breeding stock of all kinds. Oats have about the same pro- tein content as grain sorghum and barley but do not have as much as wheat. The amino acid balance of oat protein is better than that in other cereals. Oat hulls have about 12 percent crude fiber, barley 6 percent, and wheat 2 percent. Oats have more than twice the ash content of wheat. The higher ash and fiber provide a more balanced non-fattening feed than wheat, corn, or grain sorghum. About 80 million bushels of oats are used in the manu- facture of oatmeal, rolled oats, oat flour, and other oat products in the United States. The milling extraction is from 35 to 65 percent, depending upon the variety and plumpness of grain. Traditionally, Texas oat grain has been high in hull percentage and thus has not found favor in the milling industry. Oat flour contains no gluten and so cannot be used alone for making bread; however, it can be mixed with wheat flour in low proportions. Oat flour contains an antioxident which aids in preserving other products such as lard, butter, margarine, peanut butter, salted nuts, ant potato chips. Avenex, a special grade of oat flour, is 1111111260 in preserving milk, ice cream, fish, candies, bacon, and coffee. Oat hulls, another product 0f the milling of oats, are fed livestock and especially to young chickens, as they pro- de minerals not found in many feeds. Furfural is a prod- uct of oat hulls and is a major solvent in the refining of ineral and vegetable oils, in the purification of wood usins, and in the production of synthetic resins such as bakelite. It is also used in the making of adiponitrile, a nylon intermediate. Some pharmaceutical products are made from oat hulls through the furfural resins, including a substitute for penicillin. The value of oats as a winter pasture for livestock was recognized as soon as the winter-type oat varieties were introduced. As pointed out earlier, a large percentage of the oat acreage in Texas is often grazed to maturity rather than harvested for grain. Livestock grazing a winter oat pasture are shown in Figure 9D. With favorable moisture and tem- perature conditions, oats may provide winter pasture for one to three animals per acre over a period of 3 to 5 months. Differences in growth habits influence the amount produced and the time of maximum forage production by oats. The three growth-habit types of oats are shown in Figure 9B: spring or upright, intermediate or semi-erect, and winter or prostrate. The oat crop of Texas contributes much more to agricul- tural income than the visible cash value of the oat grain. Winter pasture for livestock is one such contribution of great value because oat pastures are available at the time when permanent pasture grasses are dormant. Other less visible values are its uses for green manure, silage, green- "hop feeding, control of winter soil erosion, and hay. .nce its introduction and establishment in Texas between 1830 and 1890, the oats crop has thus become a vital part of the Texas economy, contributing cash receipts of about $7 million in 1978 in addition to “less visible” contribu- tions. RESEARCH WORKERS AND CONTRIBUTIONS Worker Period Major Emphasis or Contribution A. H. Leidigh 1918-25 Selection work in Fulghum and Red Rustproof strains. C. H. McDowell 1917-45 Selection work in Fulghum and Red Rustproof strains, Supt. Sub- station Nos. 5, 6, 16, 19. P. C. Mangelsdorf 1926-38 Project leader small grains, corn. Ranger, Rustler varieties. P. B. Dunkle 1922-47 Supt. Substation No. 6, Varieties Frazier, Nortex, New Nortex. I. M. Atkins 1930-69 Project leader 1946-69, varieties Fultex, New Nortex, Mustang, Bronco, Alamo, Alamo-X, Hous- ton, Cortez, Coronado. E. S. McFadden 1936-55 Basic research; varieties Ranger, Rustler, Verde. G. W. Rivers 1949-55 Varieties Alamo, Alamo-X, Hous- ton, Mustang, Bronco. M. C. Futrell 1949-67 Research on diseases. P. E. Pawlisch 1959-64 Basic research; varieties Houston, Cortez, Coronado. M. E. McDaniel 1965-date Basic research; varieties TAM 0- 301 and TAM 0-312. 195 2-date Basic research; varieties Alamo-X, Bronco, and Norwin. J. H. Gardenhire K. B. Porter 1946-date Oat research at Bushland. M. J. Norris 1946-77 Oat research at McGregor and Temple. Lucas Reyes 1940-date Oat research at Beeville. K. A. Lahr 1955-77 Oat research at Chillicothe. LITERATURE CITED 1. Allen, A. B. 1874. Red Rustproof oats. Amer. Agr. 33:447. Allen, A. B. 1876. Winter oats. Amer. Agr. 35:393. 3. Allen, A. B. 1887. The Bohemian oat swindle. Amer. Agr. 46:160. 4. Allen, Henry Easton. 1940. The Parrella expedition to the Red River. S. W. Hist. Quar. 43:53-71. 5. Allen, Wm. W. 1840. Texas in 1840 or the Emigrants guide to the New Republic. p. 116. Reprinted in 1973. Arno Press, New York. 6. Archambeau, Ernest R. 1946. Spanish sheepmen on the Cana- dian at Old Tascosa. Panhandle Plains Hist. Rev. 19:45-76. f” .- 7. Archambeau, Ernest R. 1964. Old Tascosa. Selected items from the Tascosa Pioneer, published by C. F. Randolph from 1886-88. Panhandle Plains Hist. Rev. 39:1205. 8. Atkins, I. M. and R. G. Dahms. 1945. Reaction of small grain varieties to greenbug attack. U. S. Dept. Agr., Tech. Bull. 901. I 9. Atkins, I. M. 1950. Mustang oats. Texas Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 728. 10. Atkins, I. M. and George W. Rivers. 1954. Alamo oats. Texas Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 778. Atkins, I. M. and M. C. Futrell. 1954. Diseases of small grains in Texas. Texas Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 921. .2. Atkins, I. M. 1962. Alamo-X oats. Texas Agr. Exp. Sta. Release Leaflet L-563. 13. Atkins, I. M., M. C. Futrell, Quinton J. Raab, Wm. E. Lyles, Paul E. Pawlisch, George W. Rivers and M. J. Norris. 1964. Studies of the progenies of irradiated oats. Texas Agr. Exp. Sta. MP-742. 14. Atkins, I. M., Dennis Pier, Lucas Reyes, Paul E. Pawlisch, J. H. Gardenhire and M. E. McDaniel. 1966. The feral oats of Texas and Mexico and their possible value as germ plasm_ sources. Texas Agr. Exp. Sta. MP-811. 15. Atkins, I. M. 1969. Forage evaluation studies. Texas Agr. Exp. Sta. Prog. Rpts. 2650-2656. 16. Atkins, I. M., M. E. McDaniel and J. H. Gardenhire. 1969. Growing oats in Texas. Texas Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 1091. 17. Austin, Stephen F. Contributed by E. C. Barker, 1924. De- scription of Texas in 1828-33. S. W. Hist. Quar. 28:98-120. 18. Bealy, Earl B. 1954. Fort Belnap on the Texas frontier, 1851- 57. W. T. Hist. Ybk. 30:83-114. 19. Blacklen, Mrs. L. L. 1947. Early settlers and the settlement of Callaham County. W. Tex. Hist. Ybk. 23:13-20. 20. Bracht, Felix. 1931. Texas in 1848. Translated by Frank Schmidt. The Naylor Co., San Antonio, Tex. 21. Carrier, Lyman. 1923. Beginnings of agriculture in America. McGraw-Hill Book Co. New York. 22. Castaneda, Carlos E. 1938. Our Catholic heritage in Texas, 1519-1936. The Mission Era. 3:233. Von Beckman Jones Co., San Antonio, Tex. 89 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 90 Cat Spring Story, a Century of Progress, 1856-1956. Translated by E. A. Miller. Cat Spring Agr. Soc., Lone Star Printing, San Antonio, Tex. Chada, Harvey. 1956. Greenbugs and other pests of small grain. Texas Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 845. Coffman, F. A. 1925. Burt oats. J. Agr. Res. 30:1-64. Coffman, F. A. 1961. Oats and oat improvement. Amer. Soc. Agron. Monograph Series No. 8. Connell, J. H. 1894. Oat varieties. Farm and Ranch Magazine, Dallas, Tex. Mar: 1894. Conners, Terrell S., Jr. 1969. An account of a journey through Northeastern Texas in 1849. A report by Edward Smith to Henry Freaison Esq., Hamilton, Adams & Co., Paternoster Row, Birmingham, B. Hudson Street, London, Eng. Reprinted in the East Texas Hist. 7:28-49. Dallas Fair and Exposition, 1886 to date. Annual Premium Books., Dallas, Tex. Drumn Seed and Floral Company, Dallas, Tex. Farm & Ranch Magazine, October 1892. Dallas, Tex. Dunton, Jacob. 1872. Varieties of oats. Country Gentleman Albany, N. Y. 31:113. Reports on experimental farms. Earth Magazine of the Santa Fe Railroad. 3 (4): 11. Fries, F. 1886. Red Rustproof oats. Progressive Farm and Southern Gazette 1:2, Mar. 10. Fries, F. 1886. Henry oats. Progressive Farm and Southern Gazette. Winston, N. Car. 1 (29): 5. Goodman, Christopher C. 1966. Soldier, Indian fighter and farmer, 1818-61. S. W. Hist. Quar. 6:351-376. Reprinted from the original. Gray, L. C. and E. K. Thompson. 1941. History of agriculture in the southern United States to 1860. Peter Smith Co., New York, N. Y. Groves, A. E. 1909. Reflections of the Editor of Southwestern Farmer. Natonal Rice and Cotton Journal Co., Houston, Tex. 5:4. Hammond, Wm. J. 1958. La Reunion, a French settlement in Texas. Royal Publishing Co., Dallas, Tex. Haworth, P. L. 1915. George Washington, farmer. Bobbs- Merrill Co. Indianapolis, Ind. 91-100 pp. Hendry, George. 1931. The adobe brick as a history source. Agri. Hist. 5:110-129. Holden, W. C. 1929. Immigration and settlement of West Texas. West Texas Hist. Yrbk. 5:66-86. Howell, J. M. 1900. Culberson oats. Farm & Ranch Magazine. Dallas, Tex. July 21,1900 p.3. Johnson, Leah. 1947. St. Anthony’s Town, The Naylor Co., San Antonio, Tex. Kirkpatrick, 1883. The early settlers in Texas. Reprinted in 1963 by the Hill County Historical Society. The Texian Press, Waco, Tex. Marcy, Randolph B. 1866. Thirty years of army life on the Border. 208 p. Harper Brothers, New York, N. Y. Mason, Charles. 1853. Report of the Commissioner of Patents for the year 185 3. Agriculture 158-159. McConnell, Joseph C. 1933. The West Texas frontier. Gazette Print, J acksboro, Tex. - McDaniel, M. E. and I. M. Atkins. 1969. Coronado and Cortez Oats. Texas Agr. Exp. Sta. Release Leaflet L-855. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. McDaniel, M. E. 1972. TAM 0-301 and TAM 0-312 oats. Texas Agr. Exp. Sta. Release Leaflet L-1325. A Nall, Garry L. 1975. Speculation and expansion: Panham farming in the 1920’s. Panhandle-Plains Hist. Rev. 47:50-7: Pennsylvania Agr. Exp. Sta. 1878. Oat varieties tested. Country Gentleman. Albany, N. Y., 43:531. Ragsdale, Crystal Sasse. 1976. The Golden Free Land-Remini censes of ten immigrant women. Landmark Press, Austin, Tex. Randell, Mrs. Ralph E. 1966. A Time to purpose: A chronicle of Carson County. The Carson County Historical Society. Pioneer Publishers, NP. Richardson, Rupert N. 1963. The frontier of Northwest Texas. A. H. Clark Co., Glendale, Cal. Richardson, Rupert N. 1949. Wm. S. Ikard and Hereford rais- ing in Texas. W. Tex. Hist. Yrbk. 25:39-49. Roemer, Ferdinand. 1935. Texas: with particular reference to German immigration and the physical appearance of the coun- try. Translated by Oswald Mueller. Standard Printing Co., San Antonio, Tex. Ross, John F. and A. H. Leidigh. 1913. Cereal experiments in the Texas Panhandle. U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Pl. Ind. Bull. 283. Sheffy, Lester Fields. 1963. The Franklyn Land and Cattle Company, A Panhandle Enterprise, 1882-1957. The University of Texas Printing Division, Austin, Tex. Shephard, I. N. 1869. Egyptian oats. The Country Gentleman. Albany, N. Y. 34:231. Stanton, T. R. 1921. Fulghum oats. U. S. Dept. Agr. Dept. Circ. 193. Stanton, T. R., 1953. Production, harvesting, processing, utilization, and economic importance of oats. Economic Botany. 7:43-64. Stanton, T. R., R. R. Childs, J. W. Taylor and F. A. Coffman. 1927. Experiments with fall-sown oats in the South. U. S. Dept. Agr., Dept. Bull. 1481. Texas Almanac. 1883. Dallas Morning News, The Belo Cor}; Dallas, Tex. p. 117. Texas Almanac. 1904. Dallas Morning News, The Belo Corp. Dallas, Tex. p. 85. Texas Crop and Livestock Reporting Service, Texas State De- partment of Agriculture and the U. S. Department of Agricul- ture, Austin, Tex. Texas HistoricalCrop Statistics, 1866-1975, Bull. 129, 1976. Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Annual Reports 1889-1976. Tucker, Luther. 1856. Oat varieties. Country Gentleman. Albany, N. Y. 7:123. Tucker, Luther. 1859. Winter oats for the South. Country Gentleman. Albany, N. Y. 14:90. U. S. Bureau of Commerce, Washington Printing Office. Agri- cultural Census for 1860 to 1900. . Van Olinda, R. 1867. Surprise oats. Amer. Agr. 26:87. Walker, Olive Todd. 1944. Esther Amanda Sherrill Collins, a pioneer woman in the Texas frontier. S. W. Hist. Quar. 47:234- 238. White, Wm. N. 1867. Winter oats. Country Gentleman 26: 169. White, Lonnie J. 1967. Oats at Mobeetie, Texas in 1877. Dodge City Times, 1877-85. Reprinted in Panhandle-Plains Hist. Rev. 40:149. Barley in Texas from Colonial to Modern Times 1668-1976 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Low Temperatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 IN THE NEW WORLD . _ _ . . . _ ~ . _ ‘ . _ _ _ ' _ . . _ 92 Diseases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 IN THE TEXAS COLONIAL PERIOD _ ‘ ' . _ _ . _ - 93 USES ‘IN TEXAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Gram for Feed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 ACREAGES AND PRODUCTION, 1866-1975 . . . . . 95 Winter Pasture for Livestock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 VARIETIES GROWN ‘ _ _ _ ‘ . _ ' . . . . _ . . _ _ _ . _ _ _ 95 Brewlng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 BREEDING TO IMPROVE BARLEY FOR 106 TEXAS CONDITIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 _ ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' HAZARDS OF PRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102 gIEISECiBRISCéNVOLVED IN BARLEY 107 Rainfall Amounts and Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . 102 ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '1 ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' Insects . . . . fi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 LITERATURE CITED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108 BARLEY IN TEXAS FROM COLONIAL TO MODERN TIMES 1668 - 1976 Barley is one of the oldest and most widely adapted plants to be cultivated by man. It is not native t0 the New World; we must look to the Old World for information on its origin and development. Theories differ as to the loca- tion of the first cultivated barleys, and some are still being modified as new information is found. According to Wiebe (61), the place of origin may have been Ethiopia, the Near East, China, or India. The growing of barley in Iran around 7,000 B.C. is re- ported by Hole (33). Kramer (40) found instructions on growing barley in a cuneiform script from Nippur, written about 1700 B.C. The Egyptians used barley extensively as a feed and food crop and probably developed the art of brewing. They believed it to be the first cereal cultivated by man and traced its origin to their goddess Isis. Barley was one of the crops destroyed by the Biblical plagues of Egypt, as reported in Exodus 9:31. Barley is grown throughout the world under a wide range of conditions. It may be found on the high plateaus of Tibet, within the Artic Circle in Russia (where seasons are less than 60 days), and in North Africa, Ethiopia, and the Near East. Varieties have been developed to survive relatively low winter temperatures, while others may be injured by only light frosts. Man has selected or developed types suitable for livestock grain or winter pasture uses and for brewing, and hull-less types suitable for human consumption. IN THE NEW WORLD Barley was introduced into the United States through two routes: 1) into the New England and Atlantic Coast states by colonists from northern Europe; and 2) by the Spaniards into Mexico, and from there into California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. Barley and other cereal grains were grown at Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, in 1602 and by Virginia colonists as early as 1611 (Harlan, 31). Dutch colonists on Manhat- tan Island, New York, in 1626 also grew barley, but it was not as well adapted to this area as were the other cereals and thus did not become an important crop. The first center of barley production was New York; it later moved to the Midwest soon after 1800 and has remained there since. A second important area of barley production is in the West Coast states. The second path led from the West Indies (Dominican Republic), to Cuba, Mexico, and into Texas. On Columbus’ second voyage fhe brought seeds and livestock. In a letter to the King he wrote, “For the preservation of health, after God, it is necessary that they be provided with the provi- sions to which they are accustomed—I say, wheat, barley, peas and vines” (Morrison, 44). Later, in 1524, Cortez re- quested the Crown to pass a decree that every ship should bring crop seeds and domestic animals (Whitaker, 58). Consequently, the small grains were introduced many times 92 and immediately became important crops, spreading north- ward through the mountain valleys as those were settled by the Spaniards. Saltillo, Coahuila was established in 1568 (Carter, 12). Twenty families came north to form a permanent colony in 1575. This became the southern terminus of the road to Texas and New Mexico. In nearby valleys there were 265 springs which supplied abundant water. Grants of water and land were given each family. Irrigation ditches were built, and soon the new colonists were growing corn, beans, wheat, and other grains, as well as vegetables and fruit. The nearby mining areas looked to Saltillo for foodstuffs. A visitor to Saltillo on December 4, 1767, was Solis, an officer of the Catholic Church at Zacatecas. He wrote in his diary, “In this part of the country there are abundant fields of wheat, barley and corn as well as extensive vine- yards” (Forrestal, 25). Hendry (32) showed that barley, wheat, and oats reached California, Arizona, and New Mexico from Sonora, Mexico before 1700. He dissolved adobe bricks from mis- sions built in this period. Barley of the Coast type and other small grains were found in the bricks. Atkins (5) found seed of barley and spike parts in adobe bricks taken from the Landin Mission near Saltillo, which was built in 1745 (Davilla, 19). (See Figure 1A, Wheat f0rMan’s Bread, p. 3.) From Saltillo, barley apparently came into Texas through two paths. Juan de Onate led an expedition of 400 men, accompanied by 138 families, 83 cargos (apparently burro loads) and 3,000 horses, cattle, and sheep, northward from Saltillo through the present El Paso area into New Mexico. They dedicated Pasa del Norte (El Paso) on May 4, 1598 and established several villages, built missions, and put some land into cultivation. The first irrigation ditch, taking water from the Rio Grande, was built by Father Garcia in 1659 and remained in use until modern times. By 1668, a permanent mission church was built, and the settlers be- gan to cultivate crops using irrigation water from the river (Sonnichen, 49). However, according to White (59), there is little evidence that farming became established in the El Paso valley until after the Indian revolt in 1680. The settlement of El Paso became permanent in 1685, and by 1692 there were 1,000 inhabitants. Conditions improved for the next 33 years, and when General Rivera of Mexico inspected the area in 1726, he observed that “East of El Paso, there was a spacious val- ley, where they grow wheat and other grains, corn, beans, grapes, fruit and vegetables.” Lt. Zebulon Pike observed large fields of wheat and other grains at El Paso in 1807 (Pike, 46). Later Juan Ponce de Leon settled at El Paso in 1827, purchased land on the north side of the river, where El Paso now stands, and grew wheat, corn, and other grains (Sonnichen, 49). The second and later path into Texas came with the establishment of the missions in South and East Texas. Johnson (36) writes that all missions were planned to be self supporting-“All missions had farms on which they gr- w corn, grains, flax, fruits and vegetables.” Spanish explorers and missionaries made numerous ~ trips into Texas between 1680 and 1750, establishing mis- sions in different areas (Castaneda, 13). Fray Massanet and the Marquis de Aguayo traveled in Texas from 1719 to 1722 with the purpose of driving out the French and re- supplying the East Texas missions. Upon their return to Saltillo, they recommended that families be brought from the Canary Islands to establish permanent settlements in Texas. Under this plan, the first group of 54 persons was brought through Vera Cruz to Saltillo and on to San Antonio on March 9, 1731. A presidio had previously been built in the bend of the river near present San Pedro Springs. Chabot quotes the diary of Father Massanet as follows: “It was the season for ploughing. Lands were allotted for sowing and, by the end of June, two fanagas of corn were sown; also, some beans, barley, cotton and vegetables” (Chabot, 15). Bolton (10) has translated many of the records of three little known mission settlements in Central Texas, near present-day Rockwall (Milam County). These missions were built and operated from 1745 to 1757. They were located on the St. Xavier River, now called the San Gabriel. Father Ortiz, the missionary in charge, states, “They planted maize and other grain crops.” When the San Gabriel missions were abandoned, the missionaries moved some of the supplies over to the San Saba River area, 100 miles west where a presidio was being built. Here, according to Dunn (21), a mission was founded in 1757. The Padre at this mission wrote, “In accordance with the Viceroy’s instruc- tions, the soldiers wre assigned land to cultivate and the soil was prepared for sowing grain.” While barley is not specifically mentioned at either of these missions, corn and other grains are, and it is believed that barley was included. The last missionary at the San Jose Mission at San Antonio was Father Joe Manuel Pedrijo, 1789-1794, who improved the products of the Mission (Habig, 29). Previous- ly, wheat had not been grown to any extent because the Indians preferred corn. During this period, instructions were given that wheat, barley, and beans, as well as corn, were to be grown. In 1804, a census of the regions of New Spain was made from official estimates and reported to the Real Tribunal del Consultado de Vera Cruz. Under the heading of agricul- ture, the statistical report shows “wheat and barley-none, although experience shows that both do well here (Guice, 28).” IN THE TEXAS COLONIAL PERIOD In writings by or about the European settlers in Texas during the 1800’s there are few references to barley. Stephen F. Austin (Barker, 7) in his Descriptions 0f Texas in 1828, stated that “some experiments have been made in growing wheat, oats, barley and flax and these have been successful in the undulating country back from the Coast.” His sister, Mary Austin Holley, in 1833 also reported that barley could be grown (34) and urged immigrants to bring I all types of seed. Feliz Bracht was in business at Fredricksburg from 1845 to 1848 and traveled extensively over Texas (11). He ob- served that “all European grain crops thrive in the Hill Country northwest of San Antonio.” However, barley was slow in gaining a foothold in South Texas (Jordan, 38). It was brought to Texas about 1830 by German settlers but in 1860 made up less than 1 percent of the crop area. In other areas it was even less prevalent. Christopher Columbus Goodman (26) in 1839 stated, “In Leon County they plant no oats or barley as they have no use for it. The horses, cattle and hogs can feed themselves on the range the year round.” Interest in growing barley apparently increased some- what at mid-century. Barley for home use was grown in Bell County in the 1850’s (Tyler, 57), and Kirkpatrick (38) stated that barley and wheat were the surest crops in Hill County in 1852. The Cat Spring Agricultural Society of Austin County experimented with many kinds of crop seeds from 1857 to 1880. In 1857, they received from the U. S. Patent Office a small sample of Peruvian barley (14). The German Colony at Stanton (Martin County) grew barley in 1881 (Hutto, 35). The Texas and Pacific Railroad established demonstration farms at several locations. The one at Baird (Callaham County) from 1880 to 1883, grew many grain crops, (Blacklen, 9). The Santa Fe Railroad established farms at Sealy, Kippell, and Gainesville for demonstrating the growing of grain and other crops (22). Some success with barley was reported by a farmer, E. E. Griffith, of Salado in 1905. He said he grew nine crops of barley without a failure (Farm and Ranch Magazine, November 1905, 25). A history of Tarrant and Parker Counties (51) states that barley is usually seeded for winter pasture. The Eastern, Central, and Rolling Plains areas of Texas were settled very rapidly from 1870 to 1900. References to barley are scarce in the accounts of this period. As a forerunner of this settlement, the U. S. Army built a series of forts from Fort Worth to Fort Concho (San Angelo). In 1871, the Army bought 240,000 bushels of barley for feed, which was delivered by wagon freight to these forts (Haley, 30). It is possible that small portions of this were used for seed. For example, Taylor (52) traveled across Texas from Houston to the Presidio and E1 Paso area by horseback in 1876 and observed barley growing at Boerne, Fredricksburg, and The Llano Valley. The Army personnel at Fort McKavitt fed his horse barley grain. On the return trip, at Ben Fricklen in Tom Green County, he observed, “Here is the greatest barley farm of Texas, embracing several hundred acres. Yields are said to be 50 to 75 bushels per acre as the fields are irrigated from the Concho River. This is sold to the government for use by the cavalry at Fort Concho.” The first agricultural census of Texas, 1866 (55), re- ported 3,000 acres of barley, and the acreage remained near that amount until 1910 (Table 1). An 1892 (June) issue of Farm and Ranch stated, “Barley is not well known in the South” (24), and a 1902 editorial asked, “Why is not more barley grown in Texas” (24). Advertisements in farm papers are an indication of what is being planted and the success of the crop. 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