TESTS OF BARLEY VARIETIES IIs^ AMERICA 141 
ROSSLYN, VA. 
At Arlington Experiment Farm 72 varieties and strains of barley have been 
tested in periods of varying length during the years 1909 to 1921, inclusive. 
This farm, which is at Rosslyn, Va., across the Potomac River from Wash- 
ington, D. C, is owned and operated by the United States Department of 
Agriculture. Table 81 shows the yields of the 72 varieties, all of which were 
sown in the fall. The 11 prominent winter and spring sorts are compared in 
the summarized digest of the table. Orel (C. I. No. 351), a 2-rowed variety, 
perhaps is one of the best of those compared. Although it was surpassed in vield 
by both Chevaher (C. I. No. 156) and Hanna (C. I. No. 287) in 1911and 1912, 
the years in which they were comparable, neither of these varieties produced 
higji yields. Orel entirely winterkilled in 1912, making its average yield for 
the two years very low. Han River (C. I. No. 2163) , a 6-rowed variety, also pro- 
duced very high yields. It was not grown the same years as Chevalier and 
Hanna, so no comparison can be made with these varieties. 
Wisconsin Winter (C. I. No. 2159), which was equal to Orel and Han River 
in point of yield, seems quite winter hardy at Arlington. It makes a fall growth 
heavier than that of the Tennessee Winter, so that the chances of winterkilling 
would be greater at most stations. In recent years Han River has been sur- 
passed by both Wisconsin Winter and Tennessee Winter. Following Wisconsin 
Winter is Scottish Pearl (C. I. No. 277), a barley of the Tennessee Winter group, 
and Pidor (C. I. No. 901), a hybrid resulting from the cross Tennessee "Winter X 
Hankow. Although Tennessee Winter (C. I. No. 257) was surpassed by the 
varieties mentioned above for the j'ears in which it was comparable, it averaged 
30.3 bushels for the 13 years of the experiments, as compared with 31.2 bushels 
for Wisconsin Winter (C. I. No. 2159) for this same period. 
The three spring varieties compared in Table 81 — Chevalier (C. I. No. 156), 
Hanna (C. I. No. 287), and Svanhals (C. I. No. 187) — all produced very low 
yields. Neither the spring nor the hull-less varieties have given satisfactory 
results at Arlington. When the spring varieties are sown in the fall their growth 
is so rapid that unless the winter months are very mild they will not survive. 
When sown in the spring they do not reach full development because of the 
early advent of high temperatures. 
Orel produced unusually high yields during the four years from 1918 to 1921, 
inclusive (Table 81). Texas Winter (C. I. No. 554), a locally adapted variety 
of the Tennessee Winter group, produced an average yield of 118 per cent of 
the weighted mean for the nine years it was tested. Two hybrids of a Tennessee 
Winter cross, Cusado (C. I. No. 895) and Tenkow (C. I. No. 646), also produced 
fair yields. 
From the results at Arlington Experiment Farm it is evident that several 
types, such as Orel, Wisconsin Winter, and varieties of the Tennessee Winter 
group, are successful here. 
Wisconsin Winter and Orel appear to be better varieties than Tennessee 
Winter. The value of Tennessee Winter ma}^ not be fully indicated by the 
yields at Arlington farm, which is protected by the hills and is doubtless warmer 
than most of the grain-growing sections of Maryland and Virginia. Tennessee 
Winter is more winter hardy than the varieties which gave higher yields at 
Arlington. In the Piedmont area it probably would be more dependable. 
Orel obviously has unusual qualities. It yields well. It is winter hardy and 
at least at Arlington it is less affected by smut than Tennessee Winter. As it 
succeeds as a spring variety at Akron, Colo., its winter dormancy is likely to be 
less than that of Tennessee Winter. In the warmer sections of the South this 
lack of dormancy may prove to be an asset. The experimental results With 
barley in the South are too meager as yet to form the basis of an intelligent 
opinion, but there are indications that on the Coastal Plains the highest yields 
will be obtained from varieties which take advantage of the first growing weather 
of the spring. In the latitude of Washington, D. C, Tehnessee Winter does 
this, but farther south on the Coastal Plains its dormancy may be a handicap. 
Another desirable quality in winter barleys either in the South or in the 
latitude of Washington, D. C, is the habit of early growth in the spring, which 
is of great advantage in checking the development of weeds. Wisconsin Winter 
is one of the better varieties in this respect. 
