ANNUAL REPORT, 1929 373 



The spears in most cases decayed even when treated with corrosive sub- 

 limate, and proved very unsatisfactory as a source of material. None of 

 the cuttings produced any signs of root growth, but considerable stem 

 growth was made. The buds on the older part of the stem, that ordin- 

 arily are permanently dormant under field conditions, were stimulated to 

 growth by the various treatments but did not show any material advantage 

 over the check cuttings. Sodium thiocyanate for one hour was the mo.st 

 promising. Stalks from the one-year plants gave 30 to 50 per cent 

 repsonse regardless of treatment, while the stalks from five-year-old plants 

 gave 10 to 16 per cent response in growth of dormant buds. Sealing the 

 ends of the stems gave no material diflference except to make growth 

 slower. There was considerable difference in bud and stem growth be- 

 tween cuttings from one and five-year plants. 



On the whole the results were interesting but gave no information on 

 root growth. The work will be continued another year along the most 

 promising lines. 



Plant Progenies. — Selecting from individual plant progenies for higher 

 yielding plants was continued m the Martha and Mary Washington varie- 

 ties- Thirty-three lots of seeds each lot representing a plant, were planted 

 in the field in August, 1928, and a duplicate lot planted in the greenhouse 

 February 8, 1929. Both were transplanted in the field in April, 1929, for 

 comparison. The roots were spaced four inches apart. They were the 

 same size in both cases, but the greenhouse lot was transplanted with 

 green tops. The selections sown in the field varied from 51 to 100 per 

 cent stand, while the greenhouse lot varied from 8 to 73 per cent stand. 

 The average nunnber of stalks per plant ^\■as 4.5 for the greenhouse lot 

 and 5.8 for the field lot; the average number of stalks per plant varied 

 from 3.0 to 6.8 for the various selections. This difference is probably an 

 indication of the inherent vigor of the various mother plants. 



There is a feeling among growers that the stalks of the Mary Washing- 

 ton variety break over more readily than the other varieties- This was 

 noticeable in the plant progenies, for 7 out of 12 Mary Washington selec- 

 tions showed a sprawly growth, while none of the 39 Martha Washington 

 selections showed the sprawly condition. This, apparently, is a weakness 

 in the Mary Washington variety. 



Number of Seeds to the Berry. — The average number of seeds to the 

 berry varied from three to five in the different selections. A few berries 

 on some plants had seven and eight seeds. The weight of 100 seeds varied 

 from 1.6 grams to 3.2 grams. 



The seed from one plant was grouped in six lots according to the num- 

 ber of seeds in the berry and was planted. The visible growth and per- 

 centage stand were best in the lot of seed coming from the two-seed 

 berries. The seed of each lot was weighed, and the weight of 100 seeds 

 decreased consistently from 2.6 grams for the single-seed berry lot to 2-0 

 grams for the six-seed berry lot. 



The seed from three other plants was divided into four sizes with 

 sieves. The weights in each case decreased as in the previous example. 

 In each case the second heaviest, and the second largest seed, gave the 

 most vigorous appearing plants. For a comparison, field run seed was 

 screened into four sizes and planted with the four plants mentioned. In 



