188 THE SMALL GRAINS 



of these en masse in a separate place. This is known as 

 mass selection, and if the process is repeated in the re- 

 sultant crop, the selection is continuous. This method 

 has been practiced heretofore particularly by German 

 breeders, and is followed on the principle that there is 

 effected a gradual accumulation of slight favorable va- 

 riations, a view not generally held at present. Some 

 improvement seems to have been made by this method, 

 but apparently there is no assurance of its permanency, 

 unless the selection is continued. The best known work 

 in this line of cereal breeding has been done by Rimpau. 

 He began with a complete sample of the best spikes ob- 

 tainable in a field crop, expecting to retain in the new 

 strain all desirable characters of the original variety, 

 and then by further selection, take advantage of slight 

 favorable variations to improve on old characters and 

 possibly develop new ones. 



187. Schlanstedt rye. This rye is the best known 

 example of the work of Rimpau who lived at Schlanstedt. 

 It is the result of breeding operations begun in 1867, 

 with a selection of best spikes from the Probsteier variety. 

 It has stiff, long culms, and spikes filled with large ker- 

 nels. Selections were made again in 1896, and in 1899, 

 the last having shorter straw and shorter square-shaped 

 spikes, selected from uniformly good tillering plants. 



188. Usefulness of mass selection. Besides its use 

 in actual improvement, mass selection is of much help 

 as a preliminary to pedigree selection from old mixed 

 varieties, as, thereby, many inferior types are at once 

 discarded, leaving a much less number to be separated into 

 pedigree cultures. Mass selection is valuable after cross- 

 ing, also, in helping to eliminate undesirable progeny. 



A mass selected sort may be in itself of particular 



