iOO 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



273. Seed from Different Parts of the Ear. — Grains on an 

 ear equally represent inherent qualities of the plant which pro- 

 duced them. They should, under favorable conditions, produce 

 plants having similar characteristics. The butt grains being 

 larger and the tip grains smaller, differences in the food supply 

 exist which it was thought might modify the ability of the seed 

 to survive unfavorable conditions or cause variation in the vigor 

 with which the young plant was started upon an independent 

 existence. It has also been suggested that the grains on the 

 middle of the ear are more likely to be fertilized with pollen 

 from the same plant and that this closer breeding might tend to 

 decrease the yield from plants grown from such grains. In no 

 case have any considerable differences in yield been obtained 

 fiom using grains from different parts of the ear. The results 

 given below seem clearly to demonstrate that there is no advan- 

 tage in planting grains from any special portion of the ear, pro- 

 vided equal stands are obtained. 



Average Yield per Acre of Seed from Different Parts of Ear- 

 Bushels. 



The Kansas Station found that under field conditions eighty- 

 six per cent of the butt grains, ninety per cent of the middle 

 grains and seventy per cent of the tip grains produced plants.* 

 The Iowa Station ^ found that when all the grains of an eai 



1 Kan. Bui. 64, p. 238. 

 8 Iowa Bui. 68, p. 278. 



