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Still another important line of investigation has to do with the 
question of the inheritance of the disease-resistant quality. It fre- 
quently happens that a variety susceptible to a serious disease 
possesses certain valuable qualities, such as high yield, stiff straw, 
short ripening period, etc. The problem then comes to cross such 
a variety with one whose chief value perhaps is its resistance, with 
Fic. 7. Common smut of corn. 
the expectation of obtaining a progeny which will possess the high 
degree of resistance of one parent and the desirable agronomic 
characters of the other. Success in such procedure involves a 
thorough study of the inheritance of the resistance quality and the 
possibility of various new combinations of characters. Our own 
investigations so far have been with crosses involving very re- 
sistant and very susceptible varieties of oats and a large amount 
of interesting and valuable data have been obtained. 
