THE PRODUCTION OF NEW AND IMPROVED VARIETIES OF 



TIMOTHY* 



Herbert J. Webber 



For several years a somewhat extensive series of experiments in the 

 breeding of timothy has been conducted by the Cornell University Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station. These experiments have now advanced 

 to such a stage of completion that certain conclusions can be drawn 

 regarding the methods of investigation that can best be followed in such 

 experiments with timothy, and some idea can also be obtained of the 

 probable value of the results to be achieved. It is thought best at this 

 time to publish a preliminary paper describing the m.ost important 

 practical results obtained and outlining the methods of experimenta- 

 tion used. 



A very large number of variations have been cultivated and studied 

 in the course of the experiments and a mass of data has been accumulated 

 on yields and other characters in different seasons; but the presentation 

 of such data will be retained mainly for a future publication, when a 

 complete report of the investigations can be made. 



HISTORY OF experiments 



The Cornell experiments in breeding timothy were started in 1903 

 under the direction of Professor T. F. Hunt, who was assisted at first by 

 Professor J. W. Gilmore and Samuel Fraser. In 1906 Mr. Fraser, who 

 had charge of the field cultivations, resigned and his place was filled by 

 Dr. C. F. Clark. The writer was placed in charge of the experiments 

 in the spring of 1907, and from that time until 19 10 he was assisted in 

 the work by Doctor Clark. 



Extensive notes on the large number of individuals grown were made 

 each year from 1905 to 1907 by Mr. Fraser and Doctor Clark, assisted 

 by H. W. Teeter: such notes including yields, height of plant, time of 

 blooming, duration of blooming period, and the like. These notes, cover- 

 ing the variations in these characters for the same plants in different 

 seasons, have been brought together by Doctor Clark in an excellent 

 monograph, " Variation and Correlation in Timothy," published as 

 Bulletin 279 of this station. This monograph is a scientific study of the 

 variations and is not suited for general distribution, so that a short dis- 

 cussion of the different types of variations observed will be given later 

 in this bulletin. 



* Paper No. 28, Department of Plant-Breeding, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. 



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