HALLETT'S SELECTION SYSTEM. 85 



wheat known. The following is the plan of selection 

 adopted : The produce of a single grain is a bunch, or, as 

 Mr. Hallett calls it, a " stool," consisting of many ears. 

 The grains are carefully taken from each ear, and are planted 

 in such a manner that each ear, or rather the grains which 

 were taken from it, occupies a row separate and distinct 

 from any other row, and the distance between each grain 

 in the row is 12 inches. The grains from another ear are 

 sown in another row, 12 inches from the first row, so that 

 all the grain is deposited in 1 2-inch squares. When the 

 ears produced from the different grains are ready, a very 

 careful study and comparison of the stools from all these 

 grains is made, and the finest one is selected, and accepted 

 on the principle that the parent grain which produced that 

 " stool " was the finest of the lot. The grains produced 

 from each ear of this stool are again planted or sown in 

 separate rows, as above described, for the selection of the 

 second year, and so on each year. The result of the repeated 

 investigations of these repeated trials has shown Mr. Hal- 

 lett the essential importance of repeated selection, inas- 

 much as in the grains produced from the same ear one is 

 found greatly to excel all the others in vital power. Mr. 

 Hallett, referring thus to these and to other circumstances, 

 which space does not permit us to allude to here, as evi- 

 dence that " selection " is capable of increasing the contents 

 of the ear, proceeds to show that it is also powerful in in- 

 creasing the number of the ears. There are no correct, or 

 even approximately correct, data at our command showing 

 the number of ears produced from the usual quantity of 

 seed sown per acre, which may be set down at 7 to 8 pecks. 

 Mr. Stephens estimates it at about the same number as 

 there are grains in a bushel, or under 800,000, which is 

 equal to about one ear of produce for every two grains of 

 seed sown. Taking these data as they are, Mr. Hallett 

 computed the numbers given in the year 1861 upon the 

 two systems, one his own selection, and the other an or- 

 dinary method. The two fields upon which these were 

 tried were simply divided by a hedge. In the one in- 



