Artificial and Natural Selection 811 



ordinary rye, and are seen protruding, when 

 ripe, from between the scales of the spikelets. 

 It is unfit for poor soils, but is one of the very 

 best varieties for soils of medium fertility, in 

 a temperate climate. It is equal in the produc- 

 tion of grain to the best French sorts, but 

 far surpassing them in its amount of straw. 

 It was perfected at the farm of Schlanstedt 

 very slowly, according to the current concep- 

 tions of the period. The experiment was 

 started in the year 1866, at which time Rim- 

 pau collected the most beautiful heads from 

 among his fields, and sowed their ker- 

 nels in his experiment-garden. From this first 

 culture the whole race was derived. Every year 

 the best ears of the strain were chosen for re- 

 peated culture, under experimental care, while 

 the remainder was multiplied in a field to fur- 

 nish the seeds for large and continually increas- 

 ing areas of his farms. 



Two or three years were required to pro- 

 duce the quantity of seed of each kind required 

 for all the fields of Schlanstedt. The experi- 

 ment-garden, which through the kindness of Mr. 

 Rimpau I had the good fortune of visiting more 

 than once between 1875 and 1878, was situ- 

 ated in the middle of his farm, at some dis- 

 tance from the dwellings. Of course it was 

 treated with more care, and especially kept 



