Dec. IS. 1914 Oil Content of Seeds and Nutrition of Plant 



239 



Table VIII. — Varietal differences in the oil content of cotton seed grown in northern 

 Georgia and in the Coastal Plain region of South Carolina 



[Average for three years) 



V'priety of cotton. 



Cotton seed grown in — 



Northern Georgia. 



Lint. 



Weight 



of 



1,000 



seeds. 



Hvlls, 



Mois- 

 ture in 

 ker- 

 nels. 



-- 



Oil in 

 moist 

 ker- 

 nels. 



Oil 



1. 000 

 seeds. 



Coastal Plain region of South Carolina. 



Lint. 



Weight 



of 



1,000 



seeds. 



Mois- 

 ture in 

 ker- 

 nels. 



Oil in 

 moist 

 ker- 

 nels. 



OU 



1,000 

 seeds. 



King 



Russell 



Shine 



Toole 



Dixie 



Hawkins 



Average 

 Hawasaki 



Per 

 cent. 

 36.8 

 31-5 

 32.7 

 36.8 

 32.9 

 35- o 



Gm. 

 103.8 

 154.5 

 108.3 

 93- I 

 III.o 

 <lo. 8 



Per 

 cent. 

 40.5 

 42.4 

 41-3 

 39-7 

 40.6 

 42. 2 



Per 

 cent. 

 4.98 

 5- 13 

 4.93 

 4.98 

 4.71 

 4- 76 



Per 

 cent. 



36.54 

 37.40 

 37.52 

 37-33 

 38.06 

 36.72 



Gm. 



22. 6 

 32-9 

 23-4 

 20. 7 

 25. 2 

 23.7 



Per 

 cent. 

 36.7 



33. 2 



34-1 

 38. 5 

 33-7 

 34.2 



Gm. 



96.9 

 139- 2 



95- 



85. 

 100. 



99. 



34-3 

 41. 1 



113. 6 

 73-1 



41. 1 

 51-4 



4.92 

 6.01 



37.26 

 30. 73 



24.8 

 10.9 



34-9 

 41.0 



Per 



cent. 

 41.8 

 44.3 

 44.1 

 42.1 

 42.7 

 46.4 



Per 

 cent. 



4-79 

 4. 89 

 4.54 

 4.66 

 4.69 

 4.56 



Per 

 cent. 



39- 14 

 40.73 

 41. 2J 

 40.87 

 42.07 

 40.83 



Gm. 



21.7 

 313 

 21.8 

 20. 1 



24- 8 



102.8 43.6 

 63.0 52. 1 



4.69 

 4.93 



40.81 

 32.25 



23-5 

 9.8 



The data in Table VII show that there are enormous varietal dif- 

 ferences in soy beans both as to size of seed and as to oil content. 

 Furthermore, it should be noted that the seasonal effects of the three 

 years did not influence the several varieties alike with respect to either 

 of these two characters. More extensive tests through a period of five 

 years and with several additional varieties fully confirm these results. 

 It is clear, therefore, that in soy beans heredity is a very important 

 factor, not only with respect to the size and the oil content of the seed 

 but also as regards the extent to which these characters respond to 

 change in environment. The results with cotton, as shown in Table 

 VIII, are quite different. There are marked varietal differences in 

 size of seed and other important characters, but the percentage of oil 

 is remarkably constant when the environmental conditions are the 

 same. Williams (1906) obtained somewhat greater variations in oil 

 content in a test with 21 varieties. 



EXTENT TO WHICH THE ENVIRONMENT MAY AFFECT THE OIL 



CONTENT 



Before entering upon a study of the individual factors of nutrition in 

 their relation to the formation of oil in the plant, it was desired to obtain 

 some idea as to the extent to which the quantity of oil accumulating in 

 the seed may be influenced by change in the general environment. Some 

 varieties of soy beans may be grown under a very wide range of con- 

 ditions, and for this reason this plant was largely used in the experi- 

 ments. Through the cooperation of the Oflice of Forage-Crop Investi- 

 gations several varieties of soy beans were grown by a number of the 

 State experiment stations, and samples of the seed were subjected to 

 analysis. The results of the experiments are given in Table IX. 



