44 The Journal 
farm to farm across the state line into 
Indiana and Ohio, until the upper 
two rows of counties in Indiana have as 
much Rosen rye as the southern row of 
counties in Michigan. When carloads 
began to be available in 1917, the trade 
grew rapidly, increasing steadily since 
that year, and now several elevators 
and seed firms in Michigan count their 
sales of Rosen rye for seed in dozens of 
carloads. Much of this seed is pur- 
chased in sections where the rye is 
resonably pure, but, unfortunately, 
comparatively few people seem to 
realize the fact that rye cross-fertilizes. 
A great deal of rye that is now sold 
as Rosen is very badly mixed. The 
results obtained with this commercial 
seed are frequently not equal to those 
obtained by the use of seed inspected 
in the field and bin by the Michigan 
Crop Improvement Association, which 
cooperates with the College in main- 
taining very high standards of purity. 
ALREADY COMMERCIALLY IMPORTANT 
The extension of pedigree Rosen 
rye into other states began in 1917, 
when the inspection work began, but 
the sales made by the members of 
the association were imperfectly re- 
ported that year. For that reason 
exact figures are unobtainable. How- 
ever, a fair proportion of these sales 
have been reported in 1918 and 1919. 
One outline map, Fig. 19, shows the 
sales by states in 1918, and another 
shows the corresponding figures for 
1919 as far as they are reported to 
date. But, as indicated above, this 
of Heredity 
is a very small portion of the seed sold 
as Rosen, as the commercial trade has 
assumed vast proportions. The pedi- 
greed seed, however, is the only seed of 
guaranteed purity, and is therefore the 
basis upon which this or other states 
must base opinion regarding the value 
of Rosen rye. 
The figures on the two maps should 
be carefully studied. so as not to be 
misinterpreted. In 1918 Illinois and 
Indiana were the largest purchasers of 
pedigreed Rosen rye outside of Michigan 
yet it is probable that Michigan bought 
more pedigreed Rosen seed than all 
other states combined. In 1919, Michi- 
gan farmers bought less pedigreed Rosen 
seed than certain other states. The 
State of Washington, bought almost 
twice as much pedigreed Rosen seed 
as Michigan itself did. To explain 
these facts one must remember that 
pedigreed or high-grade Rosen is quite 
generally in the hands of Michigan 
farmers. They are simply planting 
their own seed. It is only the few who 
wish to replace their mixed seed with 
the pedigreed that are now buying 
the pedigreed seed in Michigan. 
Several states have obtained pedi- 
greed seed for two previous years and 
should be growing quantities of pure 
Rosen rye, but we have no record at 
present. A report comes from Minne- 
sota, where a man purchased the pedi- 
greed Rosen seed from Michigan in 
1918 and sold 3,000 bushels for seed in 
1919. Others can do likewise. It is 
the more distant states, where a smaller 
supply is available, that are purchasing 
increased amounts. 
