NILSSON'S DISCOVERY 35 



multiply it so rapidly that it took only two generations to get 

 seed enough to bring it advantageously into the trade. He 

 gave it the name of Mungoswell's wheat, and it soon be- 

 came one of the most profitable varieties of Scotland. It 

 has found its way into England and into France, where it 

 is still considered one of the best sorts of wheat. 



It is interesting to note that Shirreff had no idea of the 

 necessity or even of the usefulness of a repeated selection. 

 On tliis point he wholly agreed with Le Couteur. Without 

 exercising any choice, he sowed all the grains of his selected 

 plants and of their progeny, his only aim being to multiply 

 the new form as quickly as possible. They yielded a uni- 

 form race, and were simply expected to do so. 



Only five years after his first selection, another excep- 

 tional plant caught his eye. It was an exceedingly tall 

 individual in one of his fields of oats. He saved and sowed 

 its seeds separately as in the previous case and won a variety 

 which has since been largely cultivated under the name of 

 Hopetown oats. His remaining varieties w'cre the Hope- 

 town wheat, found in 1832^ which was discovered and 

 multiphcd in c[uite the same way, and the Shirreff oats, 

 concerning the origin and treatment of which he has not 

 judged it worth while to give any indications. Both of 

 them have gained a high reputation and a widespread 

 culture in Scotland as well as in some other European 

 countries. 



Until the year 1856, these four varieties were his only im- 

 provements. At that time, however, he had acquired more 

 experience concerning the variabihty of his cereals, and he 

 resolved to profit thereby. He had observed that though 

 exceptionally promising plants arc of course very rare, less 

 promising individuals may be met with in larger numbers. 

 They would not yield such excellent races as the four men- 

 tioned above, but notwithstanding that, they might sufh- 



