228 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



plant breeder in recent years. Breeders have pursued 

 two distinct courses with this crop. One set of breed- 

 ers has been producing new varieties by crossing old 

 ones. Thus far there has not been a great deal accom- 

 plished in this direction. It is only about three years 

 since we first learned how to handle the apparently 

 variable progeny of such a cross. A few varities have 

 been produced that possess special qualities of more or 

 less value. Now that we know how to get all the pos- 

 sible new varieties out of a cross, and can even tell in 

 advance what most of these varieties will be like, much 

 more ought to be accomplished in this line of plant 

 improvement. 



The other line of work with wheat has consisted in 

 a careful study of a large number of individual plants 

 in order to be able to save seed from the best. Prof. 

 W. M. Hayes, of the Minnesota station, has done some 

 excellent work of this kind, and has produced pedi- 

 greed strains of some of the standard varieties of that 

 section that considerably outyield the original varieties. 



Very little work of this kind has been undertaken 

 with the standard hay and pasture grasses, but enough 

 has been done to show valuable results. It has been 

 shown that, in the crops that have been carefully 

 studied, each kind of grass, as ordinarily sown by the 

 farmer, consists in reality of a number of more or less 

 distinct varieties mixed together. With the usual 

 methods of securing grass-seed there is no opportunity 

 to separate these varieties. In order to accomplish 

 this, a careful study of the crop must be made until 

 the grower is able to recognize the varieties of which 

 it consists. This has. been done in a few cases. 



