CULTURE OF WHEAT 



87 



eight pecks was not usually large. In ordinary practice the ten- 

 dency seems to be to use too little rather than too much seed. 



133. Influence of Size of Seed. — Ontario 

 Agricultural College, by selecting seed of 

 winter and spring wheat, oats, barley and 

 peas during five to eight years, found the 

 average yield of grain and straw and the 

 weight of grain per measured bushel to be 

 in favor of large, plump seed as compared 

 with medium-sized or small seed.-^ Indiana 

 found an average gain during three years 

 of 2.5 bushels in favor of large seed. Kan- 

 sas Station found on an average of four 

 years a slightly higher yield from wheat 

 with high weight per bushel.^ Nebraska 

 Station found that large heavy seed gave 

 much better yields than unselected seed.^ 

 North Dakota Station concludes as the 

 result of four years' tests that perfect 

 grains of large size and greatest weight 

 produce better plants than perfect grains 

 of smaller size and weight, even if the 

 grains come from the same spike.'* A 

 summary of nine years' results at the 

 Ohio Station with selected seed, second 

 grade and unscreened seed, shows that 

 neither the quantity nor the quality of the 

 crop was varied by the seed used.^ No 

 marked difference was obtained at Penn- 



1 Ont. Agr. Col. Expt. Farms Rpt. 1901, pp. 82-1 11. 

 ^ Kan. Bui. 59, pp. 89-105. 



3 Neb. Bui. 72. 



4 N. Dak. Rpt. 1 90 1, pp. 30-44. 

 * Ohio Bui. 29, p. 25. 





Spike of wheat grown in 

 New South Wales, one- 

 half natural size, show- 

 ing relative size of 

 grains as extracted 

 from spikeiets on one 

 side only of the spike 

 (After Cobb.) 



