113 



0290, Extra Squarehead II, is a crossing between Old Extra Squarehead 

 and Grenadier II and excels both parents in that it combines the winter 

 hardiness and the ability to resist rust of the former sort with the stiffer 

 straw and higher yield of the latter. By reason of the above it has given on 

 the average of four years' experiments at Svalof and Alnarp about 18% 

 higher yield than the Old Extra Squarehead and 8% more than Grenadier II. 

 A sort combining the hardiness and yielding power of Extra Squarehead II 

 had been diligently sought for earlier by selecting and testing many forms 

 out of Grenadier, but without satisfactory results. Out of the hundreds of 

 pedigree sorts tested none have combined so many good qualities and none 

 are so generally popular among the wheat growers of southern Sweden as is the 

 above crossing, although it is uncertain yet whether it can displace entirely 

 Grenadier II in all sections. 



Grenadier II, out of English Shirriff (a Squarehead sort) is the least 

 winter hardy of all sorts produced at Svalof, but is especially high yielding 

 and stiff strawed and has been used extensively in crossing with others 

 which are not so productive. 



Another sort which at present promises to excel all others comes from 

 the crossing Cone X Grenadier II. The interesting origin of this sort has 

 already been described as have likewise its peculiar merits. 



Sun wheat, although relatively early, stands among the very highest 

 yielders at Svalof. It is a little hardier than Extra Squarehead II but is not 

 so strong in the straw nor so resistant against rust or smut as is the latter 

 sort. A peculiar and not unimportant weakness of this sort is its tendency 

 to germinate slowly in the autumn. This often results in a thin and unsatis- 

 factory stand. Because of these shortcomings, crossings have been made 

 between this and such other sorts as Extra Squarehead II and Grenadier II. 

 This sort was given over to the Seed Company in 1908 and will probably 

 come on the market in 1911. 



Grenadier III is one of several lines selected from the old pedigree sort 

 Grenadier II. It is not noticeably different from the latter in morphological 

 character but seems to be a little more productive and at the same time quite 

 as winter hardy. 



0551 is another line selected in 1903 from Grenadier which is decidedly 

 more winter hardy than the latter sort. It has stood among the highest 

 yielders since taken into the tests and in 1910 gave the highest yield of all 

 sorts under consideration but was rather weak in the straw. The two last 

 mentioned sorts are excellent illustrations of the possibilities of improving 

 upon old pedigree wheat sorts. 



The following table indicates the relative yielding power of the leading 

 sorts at Svalof for the years indicated. The old Swedish Velvet chaff is used 

 as a basis of comparison, its value being placed at 100. 



