BULLETIN 291, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



crop, but the amount of moisture stored in this manner usually is not 

 enough in itself to mature a crop, though it is oftentimes first-class 

 insurance against complete failure. 



The plant-breeding work here reported has been conducted on the 

 United States experiment farms at Newell, S. Dak., and Akron, 

 Colo. At Akron the average annual precipitation from 1908 to 1914, 

 the seven-year period covered by these investigations, was 17.66 inches; 

 at Newell the average was 13.03 inches for the same period. The 

 average seasonal rainfall (April to August, inclusive) was 11.33 

 inches at Akron and 8.20 at Newell. 



The annual and seasonal rainfall for each year is shown in Table I. 



Table I. 



-Annual and seasonal rainfall at Newell, S. Dal;., and Akron, Colo., from 

 1908 to 1914, inclusive. 



Period and location. 



1908 



1909 



1910 



1911 



1912 



1913 



1914 



Inches. 



Inches. 



Inches. 



Inches. 



Inches. 



Inches. 



Inches. 



14.16 



17.73 



12.55 



6.74 



16.09 



12.53 



11.39 



16.6? 



22.46 



17.36 



14.51 



20.73 



16.35 



15.58 



8.46 



13.30 



7.19 



3.78 



10.87 



5.94 



7.86 



11.26 



13.97 



12.59 



7.90 



13.90 



7.97 



11.72 



Aver- 



Annual: 



Newell, S. Dak 

 Akron, Colo 



Seasonal: 



Newell, S. Dak 

 Akron, Colo 



Inches. 

 13.03 

 17.66 



8.20 

 11.33 



It will be seen that the moisture conditions at Akron have been 

 much more favorable than at Newell during the period specified, 

 even when we take into consideration the greater evaporation at 

 Akron, which reduces somewhat the effectiveness of the greater 

 amount of rainfall. 1 



BREEDING MILLET FOR ADAPTATION TO DROUGHT. 



Preliminary tests 2 showed that the smaller and earlier varieties 

 of millet (Kursk, Siberian, and Common) were more valuable under 

 conditions of drought than the larger and later maturing varieties 

 (German and Hungarian). The latter were therefore discarded and a 

 large number of individual plants which showed evidence of adapta- 

 tion to drought were selected among the earlier ripening varieties. 

 In making these selections the aim was also to secure plants having 

 a good forage type, stooling freely, fine in texture, and leafy, combined 

 with desirable seed habits. Simple selection, without hybridization, 

 was the method used throughout. The original stocks of the varieties 

 with which the work was begun showed abundant variation, and the 

 improvement accomplished has been the result of segregating the 

 superior strains. 



1 For a full discussion of this subject, see Briggs, L. J., and Belz, J. O., Dry fanning in relation to rainfall 

 and evaporation., U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. l'lant Indus. Bui. lss, 71 p., 23 fig., 1 pi., 1910. 



2 Dillman, A . C. Breeding drought-resistant forage plants for the Great Plains area. U.S. Dept. Agr., 

 Bur. Plant Indus. Bui. 196, p. 25. 1910. 



