186 THE AMERICAN NATURALIST [Vol. LV 



The seed from the cheek ears will be referred to as such while 

 that from the ears filled only at the butt ends, as Lot 2, and that 

 from the ears with kernels scattered over the cob as Lot 3. 



The number of ears used in making up each lot of seed fol- 

 lows: Selection 77, Check, 62 ears; Lot 2, 67 ears; Lot 3, 54 ears; 

 Selection 119, Check, 26 ears; Lot 2, 19 ears; Lot 3, 26 ears; and 

 Cross 182, Check, 26 ears ; Lot 2, 14 ears ; and Lot 3, 19 ears. 



In preparing for planting each lot was composited in the fol- 

 lowing manner. The same number of kernels was taken from each 

 ear of a lot and these kernels comibined made just enough to 

 plant one row 50 hills long. The comparative weights of the 

 three lots of seed are given in Table I. 



TABLE I 



Weights ix Grams of 265 Kernels op Each Lot of Seed 



Selection 77 1 124 I 141 j 137 



Selection 119 [ 118 I 122 127 



Cros3 182 1 12fi ! 148 151 



Date and ^Method of Planting 

 U. S. Selection 77 was planted IMay 1, 1915. The three lots 

 were planted in adjacent rows and the test repeated 14 times. 

 Selection 119 and Cross 182 were planted May 3, 1915. The lots 

 of these two varieties were planted in the same order as the lots 

 of Selection 77, but only 15 rows each of these two varieties were 

 planted. The planting was done by hand and later all the rows 

 were thinned to a uniform stand. 



Observations during Growth 

 At no stage during the growth of the com was there any 

 noticeable difference among the three lots. Neither was there 

 any difference in the time of silking and tasseling, in the height 

 of stalk, nor in time of maturing. There was a slight difference 

 in the field germination of the three lots of seed as shown in 

 Ta])le II., but these differences within the varieties are not great 

 enough to be significant nor are tliey consistent for the three 



