TESTS IN MARYLAND. 21 



makes a highly advantageous first-generation cross and the other a 

 disadvantageous first-generation cross. 



Of all the varieties used as female parents, the most productive 

 and the seven least productive formed disadvantageous first-genera- 

 tion crosses with Selection 119. 



COMPARISON OP FIRST-GENERATION CROSSES WITH THE 1908 SEED OF BOTH 



PARENTS. 



Although placing the odds in favor of the crosses, a comparison 

 is here made between the productiveness of first-generation crosses 

 and that of the parents as grown from the original (1908) seed. 



There are 31 instances in which the first-generation cross occu- 

 pied a row between rows of either parent in which the 2-year-old 

 seed was planted. In these 31 comparisons the cross exceeds the 

 better of the two parents in 14, equals it in 1, and produces less in 

 16. Of these 16 cases the male parent exceeds the cross in 15 and 

 the female parent (the Fraley Yellow Dent variety) once. 



It should be noted here that if these Maryland tests had been 

 restricted to the original seed of the parents, as has been done in 

 a few reported tests of this nature, the first-generation crosses would 

 have stood much higher in production in comparison with the parent 

 varieties. 



RELATIVE GRAIN PRODUCTION OP PARENT VARIETIES AND FIRST-GENERATION 



CROSSES. 



Expressed in terms of bushels per acre, allowing 70 pounds of 

 ears containing 15 per cent of moisture to the bushel, the parents 

 and crosses rank as follows for the four tests combined: 



Male parent, 1909 seed 49 



First-generation crosses, 1909 seed 47 



Male parent, 1908 seed 45 



Female parents, mostly 1908 seed 39 



This relative production is shown in figure 1. As the yield for 

 each field row shown in the diagram is the combined yield of a row 

 from each of the four tests, the curves show the relative production 

 of the different lots of seed with fluctuating variations and varia- 

 tions due to soil conditions somewhat reduced. 



The four Maryland tests show the production of the crosses in 

 general to be much above the average for the parents and somewhat 

 below the male parent. Of the 14 crosses between distinct strains 

 the cross of Cross 120 with Selection 119 is the only one that is 

 remarkably superior to Selection 119 for the soil and climatic con- 

 ditions under which the tests were conducted. The increased 



218 



