338 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Oflf. Doc 



A Member: Could you produce that wheat at a profit? 



PROF. WATTS: Yes, the wheat was produced at a profit. The 

 experiments have not been conducted long enough to answer that 

 question as definitely as I would like to at this time, yet we do 

 hold figures on the comparative cost of production on these fertilizer 

 plots and the manure plots. 



A Member: Was any humus injected into that soil? 



PEOF. WATTS: Only as it came into rotation from the clover 

 that might be left on the ground and from the corn, wheat and 

 oats. 



A Member: What is the rotation? 



PROF. WATTS: On the farm plots, corn, wheat, clover and 

 oats; on the farm it is wheat, clover and corn. 



A Member: In cutting the wheat, did you take any pains to 

 leave lots of the straw while they cut? 



PROF. WATTS: No, not at all; cut it in the usual way. 



A Member: What kind of lime did you use? 



PROF. WATTS: Well, we used different forms of lime; or- 

 dinarily just common burnt lime. 



There is another man to follow me, so I will have to hurry. I 

 simply want to show you a few samples of corn, unusually fine 

 ears, champion at one of the corn shows; that shows a selection 

 of a number of very good ears; that is a dent variety, I don't know 

 the name. Here is an exceedingly interesting experiment showing 

 30 some hills of potatoes, all selected from one plant; you can see 

 what a tremendous difiference there is in the result from these 

 plants. I want to say that we have made decided progress in hill 

 selection. Now we have a timothy garden which is exceedingly 

 interesting, showing the variations in the timothy; and this breed- 

 ing work I believe will result in great value to the State. It is 

 being carried on at Cornell University, and this next picture will 

 show what is happening at State College. The best plot here of 

 this pure bred timothy has yielded at the rate of almost half a 

 ton more to the acre than the ordinary timothy which we find 

 on the market. We hope to have this seed before long to send 

 out in small quantities to farmers to try out. We are also making 

 a variety of experiments with wheat, corn, potatoes and oats. 



Now, then, I don't believe that this slide has ever been shown 

 away from State college. We have not said very much about our 

 selected work, but I do want you to know that Mr. Nolden's De- 

 partment of Agronomy is doing a great work along the line of 

 selection. We are working with three different varieties. Now it 

 is an experiment to determine the value of selection, picking out 

 special plants and breeding them until you have enough that is 

 worth while, and we have some that are worth while. Take Re 



