﻿PLANT 
  BREEDING 
  

  

  175 
  

  

  166 
  

  

  plant 
  

  

  Selection 
  of 
  desired 
  characters. 
  Of 
  course 
  the 
  practical 
  

   breeder 
  would 
  concern 
  himself 
  only 
  with 
  the 
  characters 
  

  

  of 
  timothy 
  which 
  affect 
  its 
  value 
  

   for 
  haymaking 
  or 
  for 
  a 
  pasture 
  

   grass. 
  For 
  haymaking 
  he 
  would 
  

   try 
  to 
  get 
  a 
  combination 
  of 
  

   characters 
  which 
  would 
  give 
  

   abundant 
  leaves, 
  stems 
  branch- 
  

   ing 
  freely 
  from 
  the 
  base, 
  and 
  

   heads 
  and 
  seeds 
  large 
  enough 
  

   to 
  insure 
  good 
  reproduction. 
  

   A 
  single 
  plant 
  of 
  a 
  good 
  type 
  

   will 
  yield 
  about 
  five 
  times 
  as 
  

   much 
  hay 
  as 
  one 
  of 
  a 
  poor 
  

   type 
  like 
  that 
  which 
  is 
  shown 
  in 
  

   the 
  upper 
  part 
  of 
  figure 
  153. 
  

  

  FIG. 
  153. 
  Variation 
  in 
  timothy 
  

  

  The 
  two 
  lower 
  plants 
  are 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  age 
  and 
  from 
  the 
  same 
  seed, 
  growing; 
  side 
  

   by 
  side 
  in 
  the 
  field. 
  The 
  one 
  at 
  the 
  left 
  is 
  a 
  dwarf 
  ; 
  the 
  one 
  at 
  the 
  right 
  a 
  large 
  

   and 
  desirable 
  type. 
  The 
  one 
  in 
  the 
  upper 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  figure 
  is 
  a 
  dwarf 
  plant 
  with 
  

   very 
  large 
  heads 
  an 
  undesirable 
  type, 
  from 
  its 
  scanty 
  leafage 
  and 
  few 
  stems. 
  

   Photograph 
  by 
  New 
  York 
  Agricultural 
  Experiment 
  Station 
  

  

  