OAT VAKIETIES FOR THE CORX BELT 3 
test improved varieties in comparison with standard commercial 
varieties under conditions as nearly identical as possible and to 
report their results to the association. The secretary of the associa- 
tion is a member of the staff of the Iowa Agricultural Experiment 
Station. Reports covering 971 comparative trials of this kind so 
far have been accumulated. In addition to supplying needed in- 
formation, the grain threshed from these farm plats usually has 
been sown again on the same farms, these farms serving as seed- 
growing centers from which the improved varieties have been widely 
distributed. 
ALBION (IOWA NO. 103) 
Experiments conducted prior to 1906 demonstrated that Kherson 
was one of the most dependable varieties of oats grown in the Corn 
Fig. 1. — Harvested oat nursery at the Iowa Agricultural Experiment Station 
Belt. The importance of the variety in this area is shown by the 
distribution map (fig. 3). On account of its yellow color it was 
discriminated against in the markets, and other varieties in- 
ferior to Kherson were grown, primarily because of their better 
color. There was a demand for a white oat with the vigor and yield 
of Kherson to replace these inferior varieties. Albion, a white strain 
of Kherson, was the first pure-line oat variety deA^eloped in the co- 
operative cereal experiments at the Iowa Agricultural Experiment 
Station. The history and description of this variety follow. 
HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION 
History. — Albion originated from a single white-kerneled plant 
selected from Kherson in 1906 by the senior writer. This selection 
