56 THE FORAGE AND FIBER CROPS IN AMERICA 



sources, including 21 states, nine European countries, Canada, 

 and Japan. From this seed and its progeny, about 20,000 in- 

 dividual plants have been produced, and from these plants 22 

 types have been selected for propagation. The observations 

 thus far made indicate that yield and time of blooming are 

 characters which may be propagated by seed alone, and lead 

 to the hope that other characters may be also. For example, 

 it may be that strains of timothy will be developed better 



Timothy breeding nursery at Cornell Station 



adapted to pasturage than the present type, which, with 

 timothy's present quality of producing abundantly the year after 

 seed is sown, would make them desirable in systems of rotation. 

 It has not been determined fully whether timothy is close or 

 cross-fertilized. It seems probable from investigations thus 

 far made that it is self-fertilized or fertilized by pollen from 

 the same head, and also cross-fertilized within narrow limits. 

 In all attempts to improve timothy, methods should be based 

 on the assumption that cross-fertilization is possible. It has 

 been shown that a single culm does not ordinarily stay in bloom 

 more than two days; thus a difference of more than two days 

 in time of blooming would prevent cross-fertilization. In some 

 instances, however, a head may stay in bloom for seven days. 



