86 
Imj)rovement of the Plants of the Farm. 
made prominent experiments in hybridizing wheat, but we have no printed 
account of the same." 
Mr. Pringle has given up agriculture, and is now engaged in 
a botanical exploration of the Pacific Slope. His mantle has 
lallen on Mr. F. Horsford, Charlotte, Vermont, whose letter 
to me contains hints that may be useful to improvers. He 
writes : — 
"Since 1878 I have given my entire attention to the study of botany and 
hybridizing. Have only sent out three novelties that are on the market, but 
it requires from three to six years in selecting in order to establish such in 
character. My experiments liavc been confined mostly to wheat, barley, 
tomatoes and peas. Last year I made in this way about seventy-five new 
crosses. The results of these I cannot report on until one or two years' trial. 
Those of former years have been quite satisfactory to me. I have seen great 
improvement in the yield of barley by crossing, more in this cereal than in 
wheat. From some experiments which I have made I am led to believe that 
great improvement in the yield of grains can be made by crossing individuals 
of the same variety. If these individuals are not closely related, or are from 
different districts, so much the better. I believe that by taking eight indi- 
viduals of the same variety and from difierent districts, arranging them in 
pairs, crossing, and then recrossing these hybrids produced, bringing the eight 
together the third year, greater results may be obtained than by a long series 
of selections like those of Hallett's and others. There is not the variation in 
such crosses that we get by crossing different varieties, and a stack for general 
use can be had much sooner, though no change in quality of grain would be 
expected. 
" In the summer of 1881 I crossed our common six-rowed barley, which is 
the same as the French call ' Escourgeon,' with the Nepal barley, which is 
beardless and hulless. My List year's plants of this hybrid were a jileasing 
surprise to me. The heads were much longer than either parent ; beardless, 
but not hulless. The plants showed much vigour, which in this climate is 
lacking in the Nepal. Another hybrid between our common six-rowed huUess 
barley and the Nepal was equally interesting, 't he plants did not act like 
the former, but were a long time in tillering, and I had doubts of their pro- 
ducing any seed. After sending out three or four times as many stems as 
the former varietj'^, these grew and produced good heads, which were beardless 
and hulless. The plants were hardly half as tall as either parent, but pro- 
duced three times as many heads to the plant as any variety of corn which I 
had. The crossing seemed to have changed the height of the parents into 
tillering. Of course 1 may expect a great number of intermediate forms in the 
next year's crop of these varieties." 
I believe that Dr. E. L. Sturtevant, of Geneva, New York, 
Director of the Experimental Station of that State, is also 
engaged in crossing cereals, and the object of all such experi- 
ments must be the production of beneficial variations. A good 
sort for America, however, would probably not prove a good 
sort for England, since the " improvement " of a cereal implies 
its adaptability to a particular soil and climate. 
The history of maize offers an example of a plant which has 
travelk'd widely, through its inherent flexibility, or power of 
producing varieties adapted to new localities. 
