Hi Talesin,
What you stated holds for corn but doesn't for wheat.
From what I have read so far (and it's a lot!), wheat retains new characteristics because it's essentially cloned.
Corn combines genetic material so hybrids lose their potency after a while.
Shouldn't happen with wheat.
More likely it's what Hoser said... There was never any "vitality" to begin with.
I am piecing together the puzzle and the view I get is completely different than other researchers have concluded.
Russell was essentially conned and didn't get the memo that the person who sold the original was proven to be bullshitting everyone... He originally sold the wheat for 1.25 a pound (75 times commercial value), then sold it for 5 per bushel (still 5 times commercial value) because the USDA essentially told him "you're full of shit". This happened about the time that Russell started selling it at 1 per pound (60 times commercial value)...
Russell thought it was the "hottest thing since sliced bread" ;)