FIELD CROPS. 729 



At lianipart. wheat, rye. and t-nmu'r, aiiiont; the fall i=iown grains wintered 

 jierfet'tly but l)arley and oats were not successful. Excelsior rye produced 

 well-tilled heads with larire plump grains, attained a heijiht of (iO in., and was 

 ripe Sei)tenil)er ."». The heads of eunner were large and well tilled and the straw 

 was of good length. This grain stood up well and was cut when not quite 

 fully ripe on September 9. Among the promising spring grains at Kampart 

 was a variety of barley secured from Eagle, Alaska, and apparently identical 

 with barley No. 1S!)22. This produced a fine, even growth and was ripe August 

 14. Twelve varieties of Scandanavian and Russian barleys, grown for the first 

 lime, were the earliest varieties but showed a tendency to lodge. Probsteier 

 oats S. P. I. No. 20401 and White Probsteier S. P. I. No. 20402 were matured 

 Seiiteniber 10. IJgowo S. P. I. No. 20450, and Banner. Swedish Select, Burt 

 Extra Early, Finnish Black, and Sixty-day, grown from station seed, also 

 gave promising results. Russian buckwheat from station seed seeded Maj^ 22, 

 began to bloom June 22, and was harvested August 20, yielding a fair crop of 

 well-ripened grain. Among 35 varieties of potatoes, the largest percentage of 

 first-grade tubers was produced by Early Market, Snow Flake Junior, Extra 

 Early Triumph, Early Ohio, and Irish Cobbler. The seed of all the varieties 

 mentioned with the exception of Snow Flake Junior, which came from Skagway, 

 \vas secured froiy. the Sitka Station. 



At Fairbanks, barley No. 279 ranked first in ripening. Hanna barley No. 

 5793 from South Dakota was ripe enough for hay August 15, and rii)e enough 

 for harvest August 25. Manshury, Hull-less No. 19851, Hanna No. 5793, Hull-less 

 No. 12709, and Beardless No. 19852, in their respective order, ripened after 

 barley No. 279. Sixty-day oats and oats No. 19851 ripened about together, 

 l»eing matured by August 25. These varieties were followed in ripening by 

 Finnish No. 20459 and No. 20460. Rye No. 280 from South Dakota seeded 

 -May 25, was in full head July 15, stood from 36 to 46 in. high, and was 

 harvested September 3, with the seed fairly well matured. 



A brief review is given of the pedigree plant breeding carried on at the 

 Coi)i>er Center Station. The work of crossing Pamir S. P. I. No. 18922 barley 

 with Champion is reported. Of 20 seeds obtained from this cross. 17 grew and 2 

 of these resembled Champion, 5 of them were bearded, 1 hull-less, 5 of them 

 black, 1 failed to mature seed, and the rest were early and quite promising. 

 This offspring appears more promising for Alaska than either of their parents. 

 A barley secured at Coldfoot and named Chittyna has made excellent growth at 

 the stiition. A gray or nearly white sport of Finnish Black oats, discovered in 

 one of the pedigree beds, is also giving satisfactory results. 



The injury to wheat by frost on July 21 was greater in every case than the 

 injury to barley and oats. Among the barleys, Pamir S. P. I. No. 18922, 

 Champion, and Manshury. grown from station seed, matured. It is stated that 

 Pamir has but one quality, earliness, to recommend it, and that the Russian 

 variety. No. 2078(5, is better. Yakutsk has a good performance record and 

 Champion and the new beardless hybrids are the most promising of all. Finnish. 

 Black oats S. P. I. No. 158,57, matured at the station and a sport of Finnish 

 Black, a vigorous white-seeded variety, also gave good results. Wild oats from 

 the Minnesota Station made a very vigorous growth. 



[Work with field crops], F. W. Taylok (New Hampshire .S7«. Rpts. 1907-S, 

 />/>. 3 1. i -31!)). —The work conducted in the department of agronomy is briefly 

 summarized. 



The corn breeding work now in progress for 2 years is described and mention 

 is made of the fact that during the last year, a most unfavorable one for corn, 

 the yields fr<»ni .50 selected ears varied from 11 to 27 bu. per acre. Ten varieties 

 of oats yielded from 40 to 08 bu. per acre and varied in weight per bushel from 



