INSTITUTE, PITSA, FOR 1919-20 51 



plants were chosen and arranged (in 1918-19), according to 

 yield of seed, outturn of green plant at first and second cut, 

 and condition of growth at the time of the second cut. 

 Finally, the best were kept for sowing in August 1919, and 

 the process is being repeated. In this way it is hoped to 

 bring the crop back to a type which will thrive on the soil 

 conditions of Bihar, giving good yields of both seed and 

 leaf ; and showing a high power of resistance to wilt. 



IV. Linseed. 



For some vears a lars^e collection of Indian linseeds has 

 "been grown at Pusa, and a lot of work done on the pollina- 

 tion, fertilization and classification of this crop, with the 

 •object of selecting superior types. During the past season, 

 the main facts with reference to pollination and fertiliza- 

 tion have been verified and the classification of previous 

 years has been checked. This work has been carried out by 

 Maulvi Abdur Rahman Khan, Second Assistant. Out of 

 233 original kinds, 129 have been selected and are still under 

 •observation. These 129 have been grouped into 38 classes, 

 arranged according to colour and size of seed, colour of 

 flower and shape of petal. 



The seeds vary from yellow to brown and are grouped 

 into three main classes, viz., (a) yellow, (ft fawn, and (c) 

 brown. Each of these seed-classes is again sub-divided into 

 small-seeded, medium, and bold, while again within these 

 groups there are blue and white-flowered types. 



Much attention has been paid to the pollination of this, 

 crop. The details of this have already been described by the 

 Howards {Mem. Deft, of Agr. India, Bot. Series, X, No. 5, 

 pp. 208-211, Dec. 1919). The flowers open in the early 

 morning, the actual time depending on temperature and 

 humidity. The anthers burst longitudinally when the flower 

 is half open, and at this time stand away from the stigmas. 

 Later, when the flower is full open and dehiscence of the 

 anthers complete, they close in on the stigma and self-pol- 

 lination is effected. In many cases it has been observed that 

 .twisting of the styles occurs after the anthers begin to 



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