436 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Under the general subject Prof. W. M. Hays, of Minnesota, pre- 

 sented a paper on The Shakespeare of the Species. He pointed out 

 the development of knowledge regarding methods of breeding plants 

 and animals and the working out of some of the underlying principles. 

 A very optimistic view was taken as to the importance of s} 7 stematic 

 work in breeding, in which there is already widespread interest, and 

 it was believed to have great application in commercial lines. In dis- 

 cussing this paper, the influence of environment — altitude, climate, 

 character of the soil, etc. — was brought out, and the statement made 

 that "the energies of environment are to be considered as important 

 factors, as great perhaps as that of heredity;" and from this it was 

 argued that breeding work should be done in different localities, and 

 species and varieties for these environments developed. 



Dr. T. L. L} T on, of Nebraska, spoke upon Improvement in the 

 Quality of Wheat, describing his extensive experiments in selection 

 for protein and gluten. He stated that selection for improvement 

 has not gone hand in hand with selection for yield, because the methods 

 have not been perfected. Analyses of the different heads or spikes 

 showed great differences in nitrogen, so that an anal}\sis of any one 

 head could not be taken as indicating the composition of the plant. 

 Half the number of heads on the plant give a quite close average. 

 There was a slight decrease in the number of kernels in the head and 

 in the weight of the kernels, accompanying an increase in the per- 

 centage of nitrogen. The percentage of nitrogen is not a guide to the 

 content of gliadin and glutenin, and if selection is to be made on the 

 basis of gluten content the gliadin and glutenin must be determined. 

 Tables showed that the gluten nitrogen varied from 0.48 to 2.94 per 

 cent. The gluten was found to increase and decrease without change 

 in its quality, since the relation of gliadin to glutenin remained about 

 the same. 



Dr. Lyon showed that selection had an effect the first year, as shown 

 by the progeny; and a tendency toward heredity was apparent in the 

 weight of the kernel, the same as in the case of nitrogen content. 

 Since a high yield and high nitrogen content do not go together, it was 

 pointed out that there is danger that in selecting wheat for yield alone 

 the quality will be injured, and it was maintained, therefore, that the 

 quality should be taken account of in breeding or selecting for yield. 



Prof. H. Snyder called attention to the difference in values of wheat 

 for various purposes and the lack of standards, and moved the appoint- 

 ment of a standing committee of three on standards for determining the 

 value of cereals. This motion passed, and H. Snyder, C. G. Hopkins, 

 and T. L. Lyon were appointed on the committee. 



In a paper on Animal Breeding, Prof. C. F. Curtiss reviewed the 

 work which is now being undertaken in animal breeding. The replies 

 to a circular letter sent out to station men asking about the breeding 



