THE WHEAT CULTURIST. 247 



The bags containing the ears should be hung in an open 

 place away from mice or other depredators until the 

 period of sowing the seeds. 



The amount of trouble which the propagating of vari- 

 ties entails, renders it advisable for experimenters not 

 to attempt too much at one time. Only those who are 

 resolved to bestow minute attention during the whole 

 period from the time of selecting the ears until the quan- 

 tity of grain produced admits of its being distributed, 

 should undertake the selection of ears for propagating 

 the variety. 



Keeping Varieties Puke. 



In propagating new varieties, constant attention is es- 

 sential to keep the variety true to the kind selected, 

 more particularly if it has originated in what is termed 

 a sport, either the result of cultivation or hybridiza- 

 tion — the pollen of the ear of one variety fertilizing 

 the seeds contained in the ear of a different kind. This 

 hybridization is sometimes effected by experimenters, 

 but accidental contact is the more frequent cause of the 

 sports which appear in cultivated plants. Every variety 

 of grain in cultivation will occasionally show ears differ- 

 ing from those which possess the characteristic appear- 

 ances of the variety, while some varieties show red or 

 brown ears, and ears with and without awns. The 

 higher the manurial condition of the soil, the tend- 

 ency to sporting appears to increase in force. As the 

 soil should be made rich on which the seeds of the select- 

 ed ears are grown year after year, this tendency to sport 

 is certain to appear ; and as the propagating of the select- 

 ed variety is proceeded with, constant care is essential to 



