Notes on Cereals. 
2 1 
in the hulled varieties have been produced also by appropriate 
composite crossing in the hull-less forms also. 
There are certain varieties of barley in which the awns fall off 
on ripening. These are termed beardless barleys. When the beard 
falls off, the apex of the grain is exposed to the attacks of fungi. 
In the long-bearded forms which return their awns there is danger 
of interlocking of the awns and consequent levering off of the 
grains. An attempt is now being made by Mr. Garton to produce 
shortly awned varieties with the best quality of grain. 
Plants in the sporting stage are more susceptible to fungal 
attacks than are the fixed breeds. 
Crossing different breeds of barley leads to practically no 
sterility. In wheats the crossing of extreme forms introduces some 
lessening of the fertility, and in oats it often leads to a considerable 
degree of sterility. 
Oats. 
Dull weather at the time of pollination in Oats may lead to a 
loss of 25% in the yield of the crop. Such sterility is generally to 
be traced to the inactivity of the pollen grains. 
The wild A vena fatua, however, produces fertile anthers and 
active pollen grains even in very dull weather. This plant is 
extremely fertile in the wild state, most of the flowers producing 
grain. It has been extensively used at Acton Grange as a parent 
in composite crossing, since it leads to the production of a larger 
percentage of flowers with fertile anthers and also to a greater yield 
of grain. 
In the Oat-spikelet the lower grains are larger than the upper 
ones. These two forms have been collected and sown separately. 
The resulting crop shows that the smaller ones are as fertile in 
every way as the larger ones, and that in the latter the young plant 
attains its independence long before the whole supply of endosperm 
has been absorbed. In Aveua fatua, however, practically all the 
endosperm is required. 
