A Classification of the Varieties of Cultivated Oats 93 
Under each of the preceding types the varieties are grouped and further 
distinguished by more particular descriptions, including minute differences 
in color of grains, presence and number of awns, and, occasionally, char- 
acter of glumes. For example, Black Bell and Black Goldregen, Type IV, 
are thus described : 7 
Black Bell. — Panicle slender, stiff; grain chocolate-colored, spindle-like, hard, coarsely 
awned; glumes yellowish white, broad, bell-like; culms unusually stiff. Early-maturing. 
Black Goldregen. — Panicle elegant; grain chestnut-colored, short, oval, wide open, very 
plump; awns few; glumes white, broad; culms strong, numerous. 
The chief fault of the Svalof system is in the lack of distinction between 
the panicle types of its main classes. The side, or unilateral, panicle, 
Types I and II, may easily be distinguished from all other forms, but 
among panicles of the spreading, or equilateral, type the transition of 
form would make an accurate classification very difficult. The system 
may be useful for the general description of varieties, but it can scarcely 
be employed for systematic identification. 
Bohmer (1908-09) used for the classification of 92 varieties the panicle 
types characterized by Nilsson and the spikelet and grain forms described 
by Atterberg. The following outline of Bohmer's system includes seven 
main groups and twenty-two subgroups: 8 
I 
A. Panicles stiff, short, mostly a "one-sided" (actually three-sided) pyramid, with sloping- 
upstanding, strong, main branches, the whole strongly acute; culms sufficiently stiff; 
ripening period generally medium early; 2-3-grained spikelets; grains large, full, blunt- 
pointed, and more or less oval. 
a. Bright grains. 
b. Dark grains. 
Side-panicle varieties with similar forms of grain. 
B. Panicles similar to those of A, but more elegant in form; culms similar to those of A; 
ripening period early to medium early; 2-3-grained spikelets; grains medium, less full 
than those of A, more shriveled, and finer-hulled. 
a. Bright grains. 
b. Dark grains. 
II 
Panicles long, pyramid-formed, with long, slim, weak-ascending, wide, out-spreading 
branches which droop at the ends; apices of panicles meager and often drooping; culms 
weak; ripening period often early, but one variety is late in ripening; 3-1-grained 
spikelets; grains very long, long-pointed, shriveled, and meager. 
a. Bright grains. 
b. Dark grains. 
Side-panicle varieties with similar forms of grain. 
'Translation from the original Swedish. 
B Translation from the original German, 
