264 ESSAYS ON "WHEAT 



awnless like White Bobs, but some were beardy, having 

 short awns at the tip of the head like Eed Fife, while 

 others were fully bearded; some were tall growers, some 

 short, and some intermediate; some had open heads and 

 others fairly dense heads; while, in respect to maturity, 

 some were early in ripening and some late. All the 

 grains produced, however, appeared to be red and no 

 white ones were observed. Mr. Wheeler carefully selected 

 heads of each type of plant to serve as seed for the next 

 year. 



In 1912 the seed selected in 1911 was planted out in 

 head-rows, and the plants arising from them showed 

 some further variability especially in respect to seed 

 color. All the plants in some head-rows produced noth- 

 ing but red grains, while, in a few head-rows, some of the 

 plants produced red grains only and some red and white 

 grains mixed. Mr. Wheeler now began to use the name 

 of Bed Bobs for the red-grained selection which he wished 

 to multiply. 



V. B^d Bobs the Product of a Natural Cross 



The occurrence of a few plants with red grains in- 

 stead of white in the %-acre plot of 1910, and the extraordi- 

 nary variability of the plants produced from them in 

 1911, strongly suggests that the red-grained plants of 

 1910 were cross-bred, -and that Eed Bobs owes its origin 

 to a natural cross which took place in 1909 between White 

 Bobs and one or other of the red wheats Red Kfe and 

 Preston which, as we have seen, were grown side by 

 side with White Bobs in all the plots in that year. It 

 is well known that when two varieties of wheat are 

 crossed artificially, the grains resulting from the cross de- 

 velop into plants which often differ but little from, or 

 are identical with, one or the other parent, but that in 



