EXPERIMENTS WITH KHERSON AND SIXTY-DAY OATS. 69 
as in the subhumid portion of the section just to the east, mentioned 
in the preceding paragraph. 
Except at the higher altitudes in the northern Great Plains and 
at the extreme north, Kherson and Sixty-Day oats usually slightly 
outyield other varieties. In central and western North Dakota the 
climatic conditions usually favor the larger midseason varieties. 
In the western basin and coast areas, under dry-land conditions, 
Kherson and Sixty-Day produce nearly as high yields as the best 
midseason varieties and frequently are preferable, especially in 
those sections with high altitudes and a short growing season. 
Under irrigation in the western United States, midseason white 
varieties, such as Silvermine, Swedish Select, and Early Mountain, 
are the most desirable to grow, except that in sections where early 
rosts may be expected the early varieties, Kherson and Sixty-Day, 
are recommended. Better results than were expected have been ob- 
tained from these early short-strawed varieties when grown under 
irrigation in comparison with the larger and later varieties. 
YIELD OF STRAW, BUSHEL WEIGHT, AND IMPROVEMENT 
DATA. 
Primarily because of the characteristic short, slender culms of the 
Kherson and Sixty-Day varieties, they do not produce large yields of 
straw. In sections where straw is relatively valuable for feed, 
varieties that are low in yield of straw frequently are undesirable. 
On the average, these early varieties produce from 20 to 30 per cent 
less straw than the midseason varieties. 
In weight per bushel, oats of the Kherson and Sixty-Day type 
usually fall several pounds below the larger kerneled midseason 
varieties. This lower weight per measured bushel, however, is more 
than offset by the lower percentage of hull, which gives them a higher 
feeding value than other varieties. 
One of the objections made most frequently against the early 
varieties, Kherson and Sixty-Day, is the yellow color of the kernel. 
In order to eliminate this somewhat undesirable character a number 
of white-kerneled strains have been developed by selection from the 
original varieties. Several of these are of considerable promise and 
are now being grown commercially. Some excellent yellow strains 
also have been developed. Of these, the most conspicuous is the 
Richland, a very high-yielding short-strawed variety developed by 
the Iowa Agricultural Experiment Station, in cooperation with the 
Office of Cereal Investigations. As yet no variety of any impor- 
tance has been developed from crosses between the Kherson or 
Sixty-Day and other varieties. 
