194 STATE BOARD OP AGRICULTURE. 



of its leaves than other varieties. No doubt selection work within this new 

 variety will gain still greater resistance. A great aid to selection would come 

 if the i^lat to be selected can be sprayed with the blight organism at frequent 

 intervals. The plants that survive such an epidemic could be increased and 

 subjected to the same treatment again. By this means the indications are 

 that great resistance may be hoped for. This work is under way. 



The clover work indicates that the ordinary red or June clover has little to 

 recommend it in a breeding way and probably will be replaced in time by other 

 types. Alfalfa has crowded out red clover in the west, whereas twenty years 

 ago it was in the experimental stage, just as it is now in Michigan. 



The work with Hubam clover enabled the Michigan station to . distribute 

 42 bushels of seed during the past winter and spring. Most of this is being 

 grown for seed. 



There is a type of Hubam that survives the winter. It is not the ordinary 

 biennial, as it ripens its seed almost all at once. Some of these plants were 

 transplanted from the general field this spring. That field was known not 

 to have any biennial sweet clover. It is therefore known that the mother and 

 grandmother of these plants produced seed in their first year, and it is thought 

 that these plants did. If a type of sweet clover can be developed that will 

 produce seed and survive, that is more than the old fashioned biennial ever 

 did. Seed will be saved from these plants individually and a nursery set out 

 in 1922 to determine these points and produce such strains if possible. 



There is a demand for breeding work with crimson clover. Two types of 

 work have been suggested. One is to develop a summer annual and the other 

 a hardy winter annual. A beginning has been made with this work in 1921. 



The corn work is continuing much as has been reported. It is evident that 

 progress in ear-row breeding work requires that the ears (going into the test) 

 be selfed. Then it is easy to fix types. Those showing a recessive character 

 will breed true in the future, and among those that show dominant char- 

 acters the ear-row test will enable the breeder to locate the homozygote. 

 Remnants are always saved and returned to for increases. Wherever possible 

 strains that breed true to definite characters are crossed by inter-rowing and 

 detasseling. The purpose is to return any vigor that may have been lost 

 through selfing. Then if the cross can be increased and selected one year, 

 before selfing is again undertaken, recombinations of characters enables the 

 breeder to obtain more nearlj^ what he desires for ear-row work again. 



The hemp breeding work is continuing through the cross made in 1920, 

 between two strains of hemp that had been separately selected for three 

 years. One of these was very early but not a good type. The other was a 

 good type but very late. The selections are being made so as to include 

 quality and earliness. 



The oat work has produced five new high producing varieties. During the 

 past three years, the oat varietal series has been discontinued, to allow space 

 for the barley varietal series. During the interval a new set of individual 

 plant selections have been increased and placed in a new yield series in 1921. 

 The space available for the testing of spring grains will not allow a large 

 varietal series of both barley and oats at the same time, but in addition to a 

 yield series with one of these grains the selection plats can be maintained for 

 both types of grain. 



Potato breeding is being taken up by the Farm Crop section at Michigan 

 Agricultural College for the first time. It has been under way at the Upper 

 Peninsula Station during the past two years. The first work is disease free- 

 ing, The inspection forces of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and New 



