MISCELLANEOUS. 225 



that a few farmers are changing their practice 

 accordingly. This practical crossing is accom- 

 plished by planting in one row one variety and 

 in the next another, and removing the tassels 

 of the one as soon as they appear. Of course 

 the ears of the plants lacking tassels will be 

 fertilized by the other row where pollen exists, 

 thus producing a cross from which seed may 

 be selected. 



Not much effect may be seen as the result of 

 planting crossed seed the first y^ar, while the 

 second it may be very marked. 



Interesting data concerning several crossing 

 experiments is given by McCluer in the bulle- 

 tins previously referred to from which the fol- 

 lowing notes are gleaned. Figs. 60, 61 and 62, 

 loaned by the Illinois station, show, the effects 

 of some cross fertilizing done there: 



"Of 142 plats planted with sweet corn, pop corn, and these 

 crosses, it is safe to say there was as much uniformity in any 

 one of the' crossed plats as in any, and very much more than 

 was found in most of the plats planted with pure varieties. 



"Corn grown from the crosses the second year has con- 

 tinued to be comparatively uniform in type where the parent, 

 varieties were similar; but where the parent varieties were 

 widely different, as in the crosses between sweet and dent, 

 the progeny has tended strongly to run back to the parent 

 forms, while at the same time taking on other forms differ- 

 ent from either. 



"Froni the work so far done there seems to be no way of 

 telling beforehand what vfirieties will, when crossed, pro- 

 duce corn of an increased size, and what will not. 



"In the production of new varieties by crossing it will 

 15 



