56 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



tion of Minnesota No. 169. A 11st of some of the best varieties 

 as shown by the results of station tests iS given elsewhere. 

 (96, 97, 98, 99) 



89. Variety Names. — One reason which makes the compara- 

 tive merits of varieties so confusing is that many names are 

 given to the same variety. It is not unusual for old and well- 

 known varieties to be put on the market with high sounding 

 names and extravagant praises. Probably the re-naming of 

 old varieties is to some extent intentional deception, but doubt- 

 less much of it is done through ignorance. A wheat raiser 

 procures fresh seed from some source without knowing the name 

 of it, and finds after growing it a year or two that it is better 

 than that grown by his immediate neighbors. This leads to a 

 local name, given either by the grower or the buyers. The better 

 the variety and the more extensively it is grown, the larger the 

 number of names it is likely to receive. Different varieties, also, 

 although less frequently, sometimes have the same name. Often 

 fancied or real improvement has taken place. It would often 

 be difficult to decide when a strain has varied sufficiently to 

 justify its having a new name. 



90. Pedigree Wheat. — To protect both the purchaser of 

 seed wheat and the producer of superior varieties, it has been 

 proposed to establish a register for recording varieties of wheat 

 and other field crops. This record would be accompanied by a 

 statistical pedigree of the variety and there would be just the 

 same opportunity of judging the source and value of the variety 

 as there now is for judging these qualities in registered breeds 

 of live stock. By statistical pedigree is meant that the yield 

 of the crop in each generation would be on record. If the yield 

 of a lineal ancestor of a particular strain of a given variety were 

 known for a number of generations, together with the name of 

 the grower, the locality, character of soil, and method of culture 

 of each generation, the purchaser would have an intelligent and 

 consistent basis for judging its value. Whether this register 



