138 MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. I914. 



The statistics collected by the United States Department of 

 Agriculture show that at the present time oats is one of the 

 most important crops in Maine. According to the current esti- 

 mate of the Department of Agriculture' the value of the 191 3 

 oat crop in Maine was on December i, $3,080,000. Only two 

 crops, namely, hay and potatoes, exceed oats in the total amount 

 of wealth produced within the state. Further, the average yield 

 per acre of 40 bushels is some ten bushels above the average 

 for the country as a whole. These figures serve to indicate that 

 the crop is well adapted to our conditions. 



The ease with which the oat crop can be seeded, its resistence 

 to late frosts, its adaptability to our climate and soil conditions 

 and the high price which the grain brings in the eastern market, 

 recommend it as a profitable crop. More attention to cultural 

 methods and to seed selection are certain to bring greatly in- 

 creased returns with this crop. Many of the poor yields of oats 

 are due to poor seed. 



The acquisition of Highmoor Farm in the summer of 1909 

 made it possible for the Maine Agricultural Experiment Sta- 

 tion to undertake more extensive experiments in plant breeding. 

 For the reasons given above and on account of the importance 

 of the crop to this state, it was proposed to undertake some 

 breeding or seed improvement work with oats. 



Three general lines of work have been undertaken with oats. 

 The scope and purpose of these are indicated in the following 

 paragraphs. 



I. Variety tests. In starting the work with oats the logical 

 thing to do first was to test a considerable number of the exist- 

 ing varieties of oats which have yielded well in other localities. 

 In order to be of any great value such tests must be continued 

 for a number of years. In this way it is hoped to find out which 

 of these existing varieties are most suitable for Maine condi- 

 tions. In addition to these more immediate results the variety 

 tests furnish material for definite breeding work with this crop 

 as outlined below. Further the continuation of these tests from 

 year to year establishes a standard with which the production 

 of any new strains originated in our breeding work can be com- 

 pared. 



^The Agricultural Outlook, U. S. Dept. of Agr., Farmers' Bulletin Xo. 

 570, Dec. 27, 1913. 



