68 Breeding of Plants and Animals. 



one field variety might be taken from the same stock 

 number. In other cases several stock numbers are col- 

 lected into a common variety. This is allowable where 

 all of the stocks are the same in appearance and in 

 quality. When the varieties are taken from the nur- 

 sery to the field they are given what we call State or 

 Station numbers, e. g., Minnesota No. 163 wheat or 

 North Dakota No. 105 corn. To these numbers soon 

 become attached their yields in the field plot tests, 

 their record in the mill and breeding laboratory, also 

 their yields at outlying stations and, finally, varieties 

 which are distributed to the farmers are compared on 

 a large number of farms with the varieties in common 

 use and average farm yields are secured. Average 

 yields as compared with standard and other varieties 

 all along the line thus become the statistical part of 

 the pedigree of these new varieties. When it comes to 

 selling a new variety statistical facts if materially fav- 

 oring the new variety are a great help in inducing 

 farmers to purchase it. Seed dealers have already be- 

 gun to use our statistical wheat pedigrees. It is of 

 interest in this connection to note that custom has 

 regulated the price of seed wheat at only a few cents 

 above the price of similar wheat which would grade the 

 same for market purposes. This makes it impractica- 

 ble for seed dealers to try to make profits from selling- 

 good looking seed wheat, that is wheat merely of good 

 grade of the ordinary varieties. There is not sufficient 

 margin to pay for advertising and other necessary ex- 

 penses. Wheats with statistical pedigrees will over- 

 come this trade difficulty and will enable seedsmen to 

 introduce new kinds into communities which have long 

 held to old and in many cases very unprofitable varie- 

 ties. 



A system of keeping records and pedigrees of 

 wheat, corn, sugar beets, clover, pumpkins and other 

 field crops has been devised which is proving very sat- 

 isfactory. This system has been followed during the 

 last dozen years and has been used for the past two 



