﻿Artificial 
  and 
  Natural 
  Selection 
  823 
  

  

  of 
  his 
  method 
  that 
  Von 
  Lochow 
  decided 
  to 
  give 
  

   it 
  to 
  the 
  public. 
  

  

  W. 
  M. 
  Hays 
  has 
  made 
  experiments 
  with 
  wheat 
  

   at 
  the 
  Minnesota 
  Agricultural 
  Experiment 
  

   Station. 
  He 
  chose 
  a 
  hundred 
  grains 
  as 
  a 
  

   proper 
  number 
  for 
  the 
  appreciation 
  of 
  each 
  

   parent-plant, 
  and 
  hence 
  has 
  adopted 
  the 
  name 
  

   of 
  "centgener 
  power' 
  7 
  for 
  the 
  hereditary 
  per- 
  

   centage. 
  

  

  The 
  average 
  of 
  the 
  hundred 
  offspring 
  is 
  the 
  

   standard 
  to 
  judge 
  the 
  parent 
  by. 
  Experience 
  

   shows 
  at 
  once 
  that 
  this 
  average 
  is 
  not 
  at 
  all 
  pro- 
  

   portional 
  to 
  the 
  visible 
  qualities 
  of 
  the 
  parent. 
  

   Hence 
  the 
  conclusion 
  that 
  the 
  yield 
  of 
  the 
  

   parent-plant 
  is 
  a 
  very 
  uncertain 
  indication 
  of 
  its 
  

   value 
  as 
  a 
  parent 
  for 
  the 
  succeeding 
  generation. 
  

   Only 
  the 
  parents 
  with 
  the 
  largest 
  power 
  in 
  the 
  

   centgener 
  of 
  offspring 
  are 
  chosen, 
  while 
  all 
  

   others 
  are 
  wholly 
  discarded. 
  Afterwards 
  the 
  

   seeds 
  of 
  the 
  chosen 
  groups 
  are 
  propagated 
  in 
  

   the 
  field 
  until 
  the 
  required 
  quantities 
  of 
  seed 
  are 
  

   obtained. 
  

  

  This 
  centgener 
  power, 
  or 
  breeding-ability, 
  is 
  

   tested 
  and 
  compared 
  for 
  the 
  various 
  parent- 
  

   plants 
  as 
  to 
  yield, 
  grade, 
  and 
  percentage 
  of 
  ni- 
  

   trogenous 
  content 
  in 
  the 
  grain, 
  and 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  

   ability 
  of 
  the 
  plant 
  to 
  stand 
  erect, 
  resist 
  rust, 
  

   and 
  other 
  important 
  qualities. 
  It 
  is 
  evident 
  that 
  

   by 
  this 
  test 
  of 
  a 
  hundred 
  specimens 
  a 
  far 
  better 
  

  

  