WHEAT 137 



creasing our production. Much that has been said and 

 done about this important problem has been along the 

 line of soil improvement, and comparatively little has been 

 done in the way of improving the plant itself. The im- 

 portance of the problem is so far-reaching that it would 

 seem advisable to employ both methods in order to bring 

 about a larger production. Much is possible along the 

 line of plant improvement, and every wheat grower should 

 be content only after he is satisfied that further improve- 

 ment is impossible. 



126. The variety test. — No one best method for the 

 improvement of the small grain crops has yet been ad- 

 vanced. There still remain great opportunities for im- 

 provement in methods and the extending of their prac- 

 tices. From our present knowledge of crop improvement, 

 the first step in this direction is the variety test. The 

 variety test is so easily conducted that no wheat grower 

 should long be in doubt as to whether or not he can increase 

 his production by securing seed of a different variety from 

 that which he is now growing. Frequently an increase of 

 several bushels per acre may be secured by the growing of 

 a better adapted variety. It is the purpose of the variety 

 test to determine which variety, or strain is best adapted 

 to a given soil for a series of years. The variety test may 

 be conducted with few or with several varieties. Any 

 farmer can conduct a test with a few of the most promi- 

 nent varieties without great inconvenience. The variety 

 test consists in growing several varieties side by side under 

 uniform conditions of soil and culture. The farmer may 

 find it convenient to seed one or two rounds of each variety 

 with the drill, comparing the yield and the quality of the 

 crop at harvest time. More accurate results are secured 

 if one variety is used as a check, as was explained in the 



