DAIRY AND SEED IMPROVEMENT MEETINGS. iS/ 



progeny of the original selections are kept free from admix- 

 tures. Being self-pollinated the oat plant generally breeds true 

 from season to season. Occasionally natural hybrids do arise 

 through the crossing of plants in the field. To those self-fertil- 

 ized plants which breed true Johannsen of the University of 

 Copenhagen has given the name "pure line." The culture of 

 the progeny of single oat plants in rows affords a good basis 

 for the study of the characters of the plants and also forms a 

 basis of measuring the value of the selections in respect to the 

 yield of grain and straw. Individual plants, all the progeny of 

 which the test of two years shows to be uniform in type and 

 possessing the ability to transmit the character of high yield, 

 are propagated the following season in plots of two-thousandth 

 acre in area. This is necessary because of the small amount 

 of seed available. If the test in plots of this area show the 

 pure line to be worthy of further trial it is propagated in for- 

 tieth-acre plots. During the past season at Highmoor there 

 were 49 of these plots representing the descendants of 33 plants 

 selected in the season of 1910. Some of these appear very 

 promising. These 33 pure lines represent all the plants out of 

 300 originally selected that were deemed worthy of propaga- 

 tion. Further, some of the 33 lines will be taken out of the 

 test this year because they are no better than strains already 

 on the market. One of these pure lines is worthy of mention 

 here. M. A. E. S. 357 represents an oat characterized by tall 

 stiff straw averaging 4 feet in height, carrying open, spreading 

 heads. The grain is white, fairly long, plump and well filled. 

 On two fortieth-acre plots during the past season this oat 

 yielded at the rate of 81 1-2 bushels per acre. Eight of the 

 33 pure lines yielded better than 70 bushels per acre. Further, 

 it is interesting to note that no commercial variety has yet 

 equaled on two plots the average productivity of six of these 

 pure lines. To be sure in these tests there is one oat which 

 yielded in a single plot the same as the highest plot accredited 

 to a pure line. However, the average of two or more plots 

 shows the pure line to be the superior. Before a final decision 

 i., made in regard to these lines it will be necessary to continue 

 the test during successive seasons. At present, suffice it to say, 

 there is a great deal worthy of confidence in the strains of oats 

 that have been developed from single plants. Next season's 

 tests ought to settle the question fairly definitely. 



