4 INHERITANCE OF SOME CHARACTERS IN WHEAT. 



however, pure lines are the best material available for the 

 work. 



Three series of crosses with Indian wheats are involved in the 

 investigations described in this paper, and in all cases the work 

 was started from pure lines. The first was made at Lyallpur in 

 1907 between various pure lines of Punjab wheats. The first and 

 second generations of these crosses w r ere grown at the Cawnpore 

 Experiment Station 1 and the third generation at Pusa. In this 

 series of crosses the F t plants of each cross were mixed, while the F2 

 and F 3 plants were kept separate and sown and reaped plant by 

 plant. The second series of crosses was made at Pusa with various 

 pure lines obtained from local and other wheats which had been 

 under observation for some years. In this series the Y l plants were 

 kept separate, so that the full history of each cross can be traced 

 from each cross-fertilized seed. The third series of crosses was made 

 at Cambridge in the summer of 1910, and the F x generation was 

 grown partly at Pusa and partly at Cawnpore in the wheat season 

 of 1910-11, while the second generation was grown at Pusa in 

 1911-12. The principal object of this latter series w T as to cross 

 European and American rust resistant wheats with various Indian 

 lines of high grain quality with the object of securing hybrids of use 

 in India, characterised by higher rust resistance and stronger straw 

 than those at present grown. American Club, which was used by 

 Biffen at Cambridge as a parent resistant to yellow rust, wiien 

 grown at Pusa proved to be very rust resistant under Indian 

 conditions, although it was a late form and did not complete its 

 growth period till well into the hot w-eather when forms like 

 Einkorn are always attacked by black rust (P. graminis) sooner or 

 later. Its late period of maturity prevented any crossing with 

 Indian wheats at Pusa, so it was decided to attempt the work at 

 Cambridge where the Indian parents were sown for us by Professor 

 BifTen as spring wheats in 1910. The Indian wheats developed 

 very feebly under English conditions, but sufficient pollen was 



l For facilities at the Cawnpore Experiment Station we take this opportunity of 

 acknowledging our indebtedness to Mr. H. Martin Leake, Economic Botanist to the United 

 Provinces. 



