25 



The first attempts to develop an awnless strain of oats were made soon Origin of 

 after the organization of the Association, the common Probstier variety Awnless 

 being chosen as foundation material. The presence of awns was regarded as 

 not only detracting from the appearance of a sample but also preventing the 

 grains from packing closely in the measure, thus reducing the weight per 

 bushel. The first efforts in this direction led to no results when finally, after 

 several different courses had been tried, it was decided to reject all plants 

 which had the slightest appearance of an awn on any of the kernels and 

 which were not sound and entire with not a single kernel missing. These 

 later attempts proved successful in producing an awnless sort which received 

 the name 'Awnless Probstier.' This sort showed not only greater uniformity 

 than the old sort, but also during the years 1893-96, when the two sorts were 

 competing in the comparative trials, it gave a little higher average yield 

 (33, p. 178). For these reasons it soon came to practically displace the old 

 sort and, even to-day, stands among the highest yielders in Sweden. 



Renodlad (Selected) Squarehead wheat was produced by mass- n -<w n O f 

 selection after the severe winter of 1891, when a selection was made of Selected 

 the best of those plants which had survived (See Fig. 4). A quantity of Squarehead 

 this stock was given over to the Seed Company in 1895, since which date Wheat - 

 several renewals have been made from selections following such severe 

 winters as 1899 and 1901. By these repeated selections the proportion of 

 hardier Squarehead individuals within this variety, according to Nilsson- 

 Ehle's reports (39, p. 272; 51, p. 73) has gradually increased until now this 

 is among the most hardy of the high yielding sorts. Indeed up to the 

 present, no sort has been found more suitable for certain large districts in 

 Sweden. In yielding tests at Ultuna, since 1904, it has given the highest 

 average yield of any disseminated sort originated by the Association. 



The efforts to effect improvements upon-certain old varieties of cereals 

 by the system of mass-selection as applied at Svalof were therefore by no 

 means without results. Greater uniformity, higher yielding capacity and, in 

 autumn wheats, greater hardiness were the ultimate rewards of these 

 endeavors, although it required several years before the extent of this im- 

 provement became fully demonstrated. 



Introduction of the Pedigree Culture system of Selection at Svalof. 



After the Association had been in operation for about five years Prof. 



PTO f 

 Hialmar Nilsson succeeded Von Neergaard as director. As first assistant rj . ,' 



Hjalmar 



to Neergaard, Nilsson had closely followed the progress of the work and had Nilsson 

 made many valuable observations. He had carefully "studied the different appointed 

 cultures in the field and had noted the regularity with which many different director. 

 botanical types appeared from year to year. In assuming the leadership he 

 at once set to work to separate out with extreme care all plants which were 

 botanically or morphologically different in the slightest degree. Thus during 

 the harvest of 1891 a large number of heads from many different varieties of 

 autumn wheats were collected as were also plants of vetches and pease. 

 These were subjected to a most critical examination in the laboratory where 



