Methods of Breeding Oats 17&7 



meat is 4.52 greater in the latter variety. This means a difference of 4.52 

 pounds of meat for every one hundred pounds of grain. 



The table shows also that large seed does not necessarily represent 

 highest quality. In order to prove this, Storm King and Long's White 

 Tartar may be compared. While the seeds of Storm King are much 

 larger than those of Long's White Tartar, there is only 58.23 per cent of 

 meat in the seed of the former variety as compared with 70.43 per cent 

 in the latter. This means a difference of 12.20 percent of meat for every 

 one hundred pounds of grain, in favor of Long's White Tartar. 



These facts show that the grower should not buy large oats for seed if 

 that is the only qualification which they possess. When two samples of 

 oats are offered for sale, one having large seed and the other small, the 

 grower will often buy the large-seeded variety. If the large-seeded variety 

 is known to be a good yielder and to have a thin hull, it is well enough to 

 buy it; but a variety of oats should not be judged merely by the size of 

 its seed. 



There is also a great difference among varieties as to yield of straw and 

 of grain and as to the ratio of grain to straw, or, in other words, the number 

 of pounds of straw required to produce a pound of grain. For the last 

 two years the Lincoln variety has yielded 1.362 ton of straw per acre and 

 64.6 bushels of grain, while Golden Giant Side has yielded 1.418 ton of 

 straw and 47.4 bushels of grain. The ratio of straw to grain for the Lincoln 

 variety was 1.32, while that for Golden Giant Side was 1.87. It is evident 

 that more straw was required to produce a pound of grain in the case of 

 the Golden Giant variety than in the case of Lincoln. This also indicates 

 that the variety which yields a large amount of straw is not always the 

 most desirable from the standpoint of grain. 



METHODS OF IMPROVEMENT 



After the variety has been decided on, the next step is to consider what 

 methods are to be used in its improvement. There are two general 

 methods for the improvement of all crops, selection and hybridization. 

 These have been fully described in Lesson No. 38 of the Cornell 

 Reading-Course for the Farm. 



Selection 

 The method of selection is the first to be considered. As is well known 

 from the study of commercial varieties of oats, a variety is composed of 

 many different types. It is possible to go into a field of oats of a com- 

 mercial variety and select a dozen or more different types. These different 

 types may have occurred suddenly in the variety ; or, more probably, they 

 may have been brought about by what is known as mechanical mixing, 

 due to threshing one variety immediately after another with the same 



