40 



seeding, the attacks of disease or insects or of some other agency, the power 

 to stool and thus in a measure at least to compensate the loss, is obviously 

 a characteristic of importance. Sorts which normally develop several straws 

 from the one seed have long been regarded by many as superior to those in 

 which the stolons are more sparse. 



Prof. E. Schribaux of Paris, and certain other workers, however, have 

 expressed opposite views. Schribaux (60) claimed that the so-called 'main' 

 stem reaches the best development and produces the most grain and the best 

 quality, thereby being of greater value than those which develop later. Later, 

 investigations of Rimpau (61) and Lippoldes (21) indicate the weak points 

 in Schribaux' work and the incorrectness of his conclusions. 



When the work at Svalof was begun it was insisted that no plant of more 

 than three stems should be selected and that these be as evenly developed 

 as possible. This rule led to no results of special significance and so was 

 finally abandoned. With the introduction of the pedigree system a large 

 number of pure lines came to be studied thereby providing excellent oppor- 

 tunity for further elucidation of this question. As time passed Tedin ob- 

 served in barleys that certain sorts which one year were recorded as " heavy 

 stoolers" were other years designated as "light stoolers" and vice versa. 

 This and other perplexing irregularities induced him to submit the whole 

 question to a thorough investigation which covered the years 1903, 1904, 

 1905 and 1907 (74 p. 292). The conclusions drawn from these investigations 

 are that while a given sort may possess its own stooling propensity yet this, 

 especially in the case of barley, plays so small a part in comparison with the 

 effects of life-conditions as to be almost unworthy of mention. On the other 

 hand more marked differences are shown to exist between sorts in respect of 

 their manner of stooling. In some sorts for example the side shoots develop 

 very unevenly while in others the development is uniform, thus allowing even 

 maturity and conducing in a large degree to good quality. Such a sort is 

 obviously to be preferred. 



In 1903 careful observations were made by Nilsson-Ehle respecting the 

 stooling properties of different oat sorts. A few examples taken from the 

 records are given as follows: 



