10 Feb., 1916.] 



Seed Wheat. 



69 



ordinary Federation seed. In 1915, the selected Federation seed gave 

 a yield of 52 bushels per acre, as compared Avith 45 bushels for ordinary 

 Federation seed sown alongside. At Rutherglen a block of 4^ acres 

 of selected Federation seed gave 204 bushels of grain, a yield of over 

 45 bushels per acre. ISTo block of ordinary Federation gave over 36 

 bushels. The following are the yields of selected and ordinary prime 

 Federation seed sown alongside one another for the past four years 

 at Longerenong Agricultural College: — 



Acre. 



1913. Stud Plot. 



/ 



Acre. 



A Simple Method of Selection. — The methods of improving wheat 

 by selection have already been dealt with in detail in former issues of 

 the Journal (March and April, 1913), and there is therefore no need 

 to refer to the methods in detail. 

 A brief description of one method 

 applied on the State farms may 

 be of interest. The basis of the 

 method is that tlie selection must 

 be continuous and uninterrupted, 

 and at the same time require the 

 minimum of time and labcur. 

 The method is known technically 

 as mass selection, and to apply it 

 three series of plots are provided 

 for each variety of wheat, and 

 each year the produce of one 

 series of plots is sown on the plots 

 of the succeeding series. 



Thus, for Federation wlieat 

 three plots are provided, namely, 

 "stud," "seed," and "bulk" 

 plots, respectively 1-lOth, 1, and 

 10 acres in area. To provide 

 seed for the stud plot about 12 

 to 15 lbs. of the largest and best 

 heads of the best developed 

 plants in a field are hand-picked 

 and threshed. The seed is care- 

 fully graded with hand sieves, 

 and the pi-oduce sown at seed 

 time in a plot one drill- 

 width wide in the " stud " ])lot. 

 The following harvest the \n-o- 

 cedure is repeated, and the 

 process of selection of the best 



/S/4. 



Stud 



Plot. 



Seed 

 Plot. 



I 



Acre 



/O Acres. 



1915. 



Stud Seed 

 Plot. Plot 



Bulk 

 Plot 



Diagrammatic Scheme for Improve- 

 ment of Wheat at Experiment 

 Farms by Selection. 



