A RELATIVE SCORE METHOD 



253 



scored thus "3." The degrees of difference less than this are 

 divided into four divisions and marked in decreasing order by 

 single underscore (3), no weight mark (3), single overscore (3) 

 and double overscore (3). In computing the summation of 

 scores the highest weight (double underscore) is counted as 5, 

 the next as 4, and so on down to the double overscore indicating 

 the slightest degree of difference which is counted as 1. Figure 

 3 gives the same comparisons as those of figure 1, but made on 

 the weighted basis and table 1 gives the summation of the weighted 

 scores. Figure 4 shows the weighted curve (the scale of ordinates 

 being reduced to agree with that of figure 2) and it is seen that 

 there is a large gap in condition between plants 1, 2, 3 and 4 and 



Fig. 4 



Fig. 3 



5, 6, 7 and 8, which fact was not indicated by the unweighted 

 method of recording the comparisons. 



The nature of the method and the manner of its employment 

 will be apparent from this outline but one or two collateral mat- 

 ters deserve brief notice. First is the manner in which different 

 sets of comparisons thus made can be reduced to comparable 

 terms. Suppose sets of comparisons like those of figure 3 have 

 been made on several separate series of plants. There is not 

 necessarily any relation between the resulting curves since each 

 applies to its one series only. However, if comparisons are 

 then made on the same basis between the best plants of each 



