198 THE SMALL GRAINS 



ing also is more nearly the same as under field conditions, 

 which, with winter varieties, may be of much advantage 

 (Fig. 62). 



204. Specific results of selection. The large yield 

 increases obtained by Hays with selected wheats has 

 been mentioned (197). At the Ohio Experiment Station, 

 in a 2 years' trial of single wheat plant selections, 

 Williams (1909, pp. 175-176) found a wide difference in 

 yields in the progeny from the best and the poorest 

 plants of the same variety. In the third year hundredth 

 acre plats were planted with seed of the high yielding 

 strains in comparison with corresponding plats with bulk 

 seed of the parent variety. The average excess of yield 

 to the acre of the pure strains over that of the parent 

 variety was 4.57 bushels. At the Nebraska Experiment 

 Station, 26 pure strains of Turkey wheat from plants 

 selected in 1902 were grown four years in field plats, in 

 comparison with checks of the original variety in every 

 fifth plat. The checks averaged 35.18 bushels to the 

 acre ; the highest yielding strain 40.75 bushels, an excess 

 of 5.57 bushels ; and the lowest yielding strain 28.88 bush- 

 els, a decrease under the checks of 6.30 bushels (Mont- 

 gomery, 1912 a, pp. 11-12). In the experiments one of the 

 strains showed an ability to stand in striking contrast with 

 that of its neighboring strain, which was badly lodged. 



205. Work of Von Riimker with rye. Von Riimker 

 (1911, pp. 332-335) at Breslau, Germany, was able, after 

 7 years, to establish, by rigorous and continuous selec- 

 tion, pure strains of rye for color of kernel as follows : 

 (1) greenish blue, (2) yellow, (3) deep brown (the 

 color of parched coffee). The following other colors 

 have been observed, but strains pure for these colors 

 have not yet been established : sulfur yellow, rose, 



