STUDIES ON OAT BREEDING. 135 



Experiment Station has founded a system of oat varieties. In 

 the recent classification of oat varieties proposed by Bohmer 20 

 the type of head has also been used as a distinguishing basis 

 together with the grain characters, thus combining the system 

 of the Svalof Experiment Station based upon the head types 

 with that of Atterberg 21 founded upon the grain characters.. 

 The type of the oat head .has also been found to be correlated 

 with quantitative characters. Thus at Svalof the spreading type 

 of head with drooping branches is considered as correlated 

 with a small yield of grain. 22 



The pure lines dealt with in this paper belong to the vast 

 group of oats with spreading heads. Here again they show a 

 resemblance to the predominating types in their respective 

 parent varieties. The description of the head character^ of the 

 pure lines will be aided by referring to figures 19 to 24. These 

 photographs were taken shortly before maturity and all on 

 the same day. The head types of the Banner lines fall within 

 the group of the stiff-branched heads. As will be seen from 

 figures 19, 23 and 24 the Banner head is chiefly characterized by 

 its vigorous, stiff, ascending branches forming a very narrow 

 angle with the main axis of the head. This is especially true of 

 the first branches in the lower whorl. The position of the 

 branches with respect to the main axis and the angle which they 

 form with the latter determine the character of the head. Al- 

 though with the approaching maturity the increasing weight of 

 the spikelets tend to bend the branches away from the main 

 axis, the characteristic upstanding habit can still be clearly 

 seen. In the early growth and especially when allowed a 

 wide stand this habit is considerably more pronounced. The 

 branches of the Banner head are vigorous, medium long and 

 well covered with spikelets. The main axis of the head is 

 straight and well covered with spikelets at its top, which is a 

 desirable feature since the grain develops and matures best at 

 the top of the main axis and at the tips of the branches. The 



z0 B6hmer. Uber die Systematik der Hafersorten, Berlin, 1909. 



"Atterberg, A. Neues System der Hafervarietaten. Landwirtschaftl. 

 Versuchstationen. Bd. XXXIX, Berlin, 1891. 



22 Cited from Fruwirth : Ziichtung der landw. Kuturpflanzen, Bd. IV, 

 p. 354, Berlin, 1910. 



