16 



VALUE OF PIEST-GENERATION HYBRIDS IN CORN. 



In the bulletin mentioned the practical possibilities of this method 

 of increasing yields were indicated, as follows: 



The fact that increased yields can be obtained by crossing two varieties is pretty 

 certainly established, and a few farmers are changing their practice accordingly. This 

 is quite e^-sily done by planting in one row one variety and in the next another variety, 

 and removing the tassels of the one as soon as they appear. The ears forming on the 

 rows having the tassels removed will be fertilized with pollen from the other rows, thus 

 producing a direct cross between the two varieties. The seed should be selected from 

 the rows having the tassels removed, and the experiments indicate that it will pretty 

 certainly give a larger yield than the average of the parent varieties when planted 

 under like conditions. ^ 



The above quotation indicates that the authors considered the prin- 

 ciple as established and worthy of practical application. No expla- 

 nation has been offered why the matter was again allowed to rest at 

 this pomt, but so far as can be learned no one has since practiced the 

 growing of first-generation hybrids on a commercial scale. 



In 1893 four additional crosses were planted, three of the four giving 

 increases over the average of the parents, the average increase being 

 9.5 bushels, or 7.7 per cent. The results are shown in Table III.^ 



Table III. — Results of experiments by Morrow and Gardner with corn hybrids at the Illi- 

 nois Agricultural Experiment Station in 1893. 



Variety. 



Yield per acre. 



Number 

 of ears. 



Air-dry 

 corn. 



Champion White Pearl 



Burr's White 



Average 



Champion White Pearl — Burr's White Cross 



Leaming (average 4 plats) 



Burr's White 



Average 



Leaming— Burr's White Cross 



Edmonds 



Murdock (average 4 plats) 



Average 



Edmonds — Murdoclc Cross 



Edmonds 



Burr's White 



Average 



Edmonds— Burr's White Cross 



Bushels. 



8,970 

 9,360 



33.5 



37.8 



The fluctuations in the yields of the different varieties and crosses 

 in this experiment are so wide that little confidence can be placed in 



o Morrow, G. E., and Gardner, F. D., loc. cit. 

 b Morrow, G. E., and Gardner, F. D. Experiments with Corn. 

 Agricultural Experiment Station, pp. 359-360. 

 191 



Bulletin 31, Illinois 



