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varieties are artifically crossed. But the enormous amount of varia- 

 tion induced by composite crossing between diiierent wheat groups, 

 though it must be apparent to anyone, can only be appreciated by 

 seeing the results in the field. The writer had the opportunity of 

 observing such results in the experimental plats of the Garton Broth- 

 ers, in Lincolnshire, England. Their experiments in this line are by 

 far the best illustration of this kind of work in the world. In certain 

 plats were shown the offspring of the second generation from the last 

 cross in cases of series of crosses in which parents were taken from 

 four or even five different wheat groups. In these plats of the second 

 year the progeny had reached the highest degree of variation, and the 

 number of very different forms shown, which came directly, of course, 

 from two parents, were astonishing. There were forms, apparently, 

 of true durums, poulards, spelts, Polish, clubs, and intergradations 

 between these groups, and in many cases characters of every group 

 were easily observable in the same plant. There were large, small, 

 short, longj. bearded, and bald heads; velvet and smooth leaves; broad 

 leaves, narrow leaves; leaves glaucous and not glaucous; and plants 

 rusted and not rusted, and of all heights. (Plate X.) 



Some of the practical results attained by the Gartons, which are 

 of the greatest economic importance and which serve to show the 

 superiority of their method of operations, should be mentioned. 

 First, it was desired to combine with the yielding capacity of a local 

 variety, rust resistance and tenacity of chaff. By intercrossing this 

 variety w^ith a spelt and a durum these requirements were readily 

 obtained, as witnessed by the writer. But, in addition, the added 

 fertility of the head drawn from the spelt, together, possibly, with 

 the increased vigor of the seed which is often the result of hybridiza- 

 tion, still further increased the yield of the original variety. These 

 qualities could not possibly all have been secured by crossing common 

 varieties only, since no varieties of the common group are known to 

 be satisfactorily rust resistant, and only the spelts, emmers, and ein- 

 korns are perfectly tenacious of their chaff". In other hybrids great 

 improvement has been made in the hardiness and gluten content of 

 grain, size and fertility of the head, etc., while in nearly all cases the 

 yio\d has been increased. 



Some examples of the results in crossing oats and barley are also 

 very interesting. Common oats have ])een changed into huUess sorts, 

 but retaining something near the original size of grain, and at the 

 same time one effect of the operations has been to so increase the 

 length of the spikelets as to double the usual yield. The wild oat 

 {Avena fatua) has been used successfully in many of these experi- 

 ments, "'ivino- extra vioor and fertility to the new hybrids. In the 

 case of barleys the yield of the .six-rowed sorts has been combined 

 with the excellent {quality of grain of the two-rowed Chevalier. This 



