CEBEAL EXPERIMENTS AT THE WILLISTON SUBSTATION. 



11 



Table V shows the number of centgeners, head rows, and rod rows 

 planted each year since 1908. The number of rows of winter wheat 

 grown each year since 1911 is shown separately. The winter-wheat 

 rows have been 1 rod long or shorter. 



Table V. — Number of plantings of spring and winter cereals in centgeners and in rows 

 at the Williston substation, 1908 to 1914, inclusive. 





Spring cereals. 



Winter 

 wheat 

 rows. 



Year. 



Cent- 

 geners. 



Head 

 rows. 



Rod 

 rows. 



190S 



156 



107 

 111 

 55 









1909 



87 

 426 

 280 



359 

 339 



200 



90 



1910 



1911 





Year. 



1912. 

 1913. 

 1914. 



Spring cereals. 



Cent- 

 geners. 



Head 



rows. 



343 



500 

 546 



Rod 

 rows. 



507 

 180 

 175 



Winter 

 wheat 

 rows. 



125 

 100 

 75 



CENTGENERS. 



Iii 1908 there were 156 centgener plats. The number decreased 

 each year until 1913, when centgeners were discontinued. The cent- 

 gener plats were planted in squares with one seed in a place, the seeds 

 being 4 inches apart each way. Each centgener was sown with seed 

 from a single plant. A complete centgener contained 100 seeds, if 

 a plant produced that number. Around the outside of the plat two 

 rows of some other variety were sown for protection. 



The best plant in each centgener plat each year was selected for 

 planting the following year. All inferior plants were discarded. The 

 plant selected for continuing the centgener was the one which ap- 

 proached most nearly the standard sought. 



HEAD ROWS. 



The bead rows are 5 feet in length and 12 inches apart. The seeds 

 arc spaced 3 inches apart in the row, thus requiring 20 seeds for each 

 row. 



The material tested in head rows came from various sources. 

 Much of it was in the form of individual heads chosen from the 

 varietal plats of wheat, oats, and barley, or from farm fields. Each 

 SUCh head was planted in a head row. 



When the work was begun, it was thought that improvement 

 would result from continuous selection within a pure line. The best 

 plant was -elected each year from the head row, just as in the cent- 

 gener, and its Beed sown the following year. This plan was aban- 

 doned in 1912. Thereafter a race was kept in the head row but a 

 jingle year. If inferior, it was discarded. If promising, a, rod row 



OWIl the following year with bulk seed from the head row. 



Notes were taken throughout the eason on heading, ripening, yields, 



and BUch other- factors as were considered essential to proper com 



parisons. 



