have been largely concerned with transferring this resist- 
ance to varieties of A. sativa. Stanton (1947) gave a 
graphic account of a portion of this work by tracing the 
history of a single seed which resulted from an A. byzan- 
tinaX_A. sativa cross made in 1980. The descendants of 
this seed proved superior to the oats then grown and it 
is estimated that in 1946 they accounted for two-thirds 
of the oat acreage in the United States. As pointed out 
by Coffman, cultivated oats will come to contain more 
and more genes of 4. byzantina with the advance of oat- 
breeding projects. The days of pure 4. sativa appear to 
be numbered and we can well imagine that a phylogenist 
of the future will be able to assemble an extensive series 
of intermediate forms which, if their true origin were 
ignored, would suggest A. sativa originated from the 
red oats. 
CONCLUSION 
Searcely any definite conclusions, other than broad 
generalizations, can be drawn as to the origin of oats. 
Objections raise themselves to every theory. However, 
the broad outlines of oat evolution are becoming evident, 
and, with the accumulation of more information, a much 
more satisfactory picture will develop. A measure of the 
progress to date can be gained by comparing the evi- 
dence reviewed here with notions held during the eight- 
eenth century when, according to De Candolle, the pre- 
vailing opinion was that oats originated in the South 
Pacific on the Isles of Juan Fernandez. 
[ 299 ] 
