158 Bulletin 251. 



Planting the selections/^ Plant the seed of each plant separately in 

 a short row by the so-called '' plant- to-row-mcthod." A satisfactory 

 way is to place the rows one foot apart. About every twentieth row 

 should be planted with seed of some standard variety for comparison, 

 and it would be well also to plant rows of several other standard varieties 

 for comparison. If the land on which the selections are planted is 

 weedy it will recpiire to be hoed once or twice during the spring to keep the 

 weeds down. 



When the selections begin to ripen note the season of maturing of the 

 rows from different individuals, and when, they are fully ripe go over 

 each row carefully and study their comparative value with each other 

 and with the rows of standard varieties planted with them. Discard 

 all rows which are apparently inferior in yield or are badly affected with 

 any disease, such as rust or smut or which show any noticeable tendency 

 to lodge or shatter badly. It is highly important to secure varieties 

 which will not winter-kill badly, and rows which are noticeably affected 

 by winter-killing should be discarded unless the winter has been so 

 severe that all of the progenies are badly affected. \n such a case choose 

 those injured the least. Retain the superior good rows. Each row 

 thus selected should be examined to see that all of the plants in the row 

 are of uniform type. If any plants in a certain row diff'er from the 

 general type of the row they should be pulled out and thrown away. 

 These rows should then be harvested separately and the seed from 

 each preserved separately. Keep the seed numbered in accordance 

 with the number of the individual plant first selected. Carefully preserve 

 records of yield, earliness, hardiness, etc., of the different numbers. 



Second generation. — With the seed of each selected row of the pre- 

 ceding year, plant a drill row 17 feet long using a definite rate of seeding; 

 one-half ounce of seed per row would be at the rate of about one and one- 

 half bushels of seed per acre and should be thick enough. These 17-foot 

 rows should be planted one foot apart so that one row represents -^ of a 

 square rod or 25V0 of an acre. Plant as many 17- foot rows from each 

 kind as the amount of seed obtained will plant, but if more than one row 

 is planted place them in different parts of the field in order to obtain a 

 better judgment of the variation due to soil. In planting the 17-foot 

 rows at least every twentieth mw should again be planted with a standard 

 variety for comparison. 



\\''hen the grain is ripe examine them as in the first generation and 

 discard all inferior rows. Harvest and thresh each select row, keeping 

 them separate and saving all seed of the best rows. Carefully weigh the 



*Thc row method of testing varieties and selections described here is based 

 on the inctliod devised by Prof. J- B. Norton in the breeding- of oats. Am. 

 Breeders' Association Vol. Ill, p. 280. 



