Relation of Size of Seed and Sprout Value to Yield 49 
yields obtained from small seed when planted in equal numbers 
to the large. On the other hand this lower productiveness of the 
individual plant is unimportant, as shown in the following in- 
vestigation, when a greater number of plants from small seed 
are secured by planting equal weights of seed. 
RELATIVE YIELDS FROM LARGE AND SMALL SEEDS OF CEREALS WHEN PLANTED 
IN EQUAL NUMBERS AND AT EQUAL WEIGHTS 
An investigation was started with winter wheat in 1911 to 
determine the relative yields of unselected, large, and small seeds 
of cereal crops, when compared in equal numbers and equal 
weights of seeds planted. This test has been continued ever 
since, except during 1912 and 1913, in which years the crops 
were lost, by winterkilling in 1912 and by excessive lodging and 
rusting in 1913 owing to planting on summer-fallowed land. 
The experiment has been repeated with Kherson oats during the 
5 years 1912 to 1916 and with spring wheat in 1915 and 1916. 
The test plats contained three 16-foot rows spaced 8 inches 
apart, with the exception that the 1912 and 1913 oat tests and the 
1911 winter wheat tests were conducted in 1-row plats. 
The large seeds were in all cases spaced in the row at approx- 
imately the normal field rate of planting. Other grades were 
planted in both equal numbers and equal weights to this. The 
planting plans are shown in figures 6 and 7. The results are 
given in tables 27 to 29 and are summarized in table 30. 
Winter wheat, J^-year average — Planted in equal numbers, the 
small seed yielded 4 per cent less than the large seed, while the 
yields of large and small seed were equal when equal weights of 
seed were planted. The small seed sown in equal numbers 
weighed only 62 per cent as much as the large, while in equal 
weights the number of small seed exceeded the large 80 per cent. 
The unselected seed yielded 1 per cent less than the large when 
equal numbers of seeds were sown, and 5 per cent more when 
equal weights of seed were used. 
(a) 
Large seed 
(b) 
Small seed, equal numbers to (a) 
(c) 
Unselected seed, equal numbers to (a) 
(d) 
Small seed, equal weights to (a) 
(e) 
Unselected seed, equal weights to (a) 
Fig. 6 — Plan for planting winter wheat tests. The entire series was repeated 
10 times each year 
