568 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. XXVIII, No. 6 
Table I.— Number of heads and flowers , bagged and not bagged, on Ft wheat-rye 
hybrid giants growing in wheat plats and number and percentage of seed set on 
these heads 
Year. 
Number of heads 
Number of flowers 
Number and percentage 
of seed set on heads 
Bagged 
Not 
bagged 
Bagged 
Not 
bagged 
Bagged 
Not bagged 
1922. 
142 
240 
6,972 
11,791 
a 1 
Total 
77 
Per cent 
0.65 
1923. 
34 
69 
1,374 
4,772 
0 
32 
.67 
Total. 
176 
309 
8,346 
16, 563 
1 
109 
.66 
a The single seed obtained under bagged conditions is likely due to late or faulty bagging. 
In this connection it should be explained that the rye varieties or selections are 
grown at the Arlington Experiment Farm in twentieth-acre plats, separated by 
several wheat plats in such a manner that the rye varieties are approximately 90 
feet from one another. This tends to reduce somewhat the amount of natural 
crossing between the rye varieties, but furnishes abundant opportunities for 
natural crossing between the wheat and rye. Many natural hybrids between 
these have been found on this farm since 1914, the year in which the first one 
was discovered ( 6 ). 
In 1918, 40 seeds were obtained from 19 natural Fi wheat-rye hybrids found 
in the wheat plats at Arlington ( 8 ). The pollination of these plants was uncon¬ 
trolled, and it is likely that the F 2 generation plants were natural sesqui-hybrids. 
The F 2 and F 3 of the wheat-rye hybrids were grown in the greenhouse, where 
natural crossing with wheat was again possible, though not to the degree existing 
under field conditions. The later generations were matured in the field rod-row 
nursery in order to test the yielding ability of the selections. The generation 
grown in 1922 consisted of 77 rod-rows, or approximately 9,400 plants. This 
generation was made up of about 63 strains, descended from 24 F 3 plants. These 
strains, in general, were fully as fertile in the F 5 generation as wheat grown 
under the same conditions. High fertility in these wheat-rye hybrids was first 
observed in certain plants of the F 3 generation. 
The head type of the F 5 generation plants, grown in the 77 rod-rows, was for 
the most part identical with that of wheat, and only rarely was a plant found 
which differed from wheat to a degree that approached the Fi. The majority 
of the plants could not be distinguished from common wheat. One undoubted 
rye character, however, was observed on eight plants which in other respects 
could be called wheat. This was the pubescent peduncle commonly associated 
with rye, but apparently unknown in wheat (PI. 2). 
THE “HAIRY-NECK” CHARACTER 
The peduncle is the upper portion of the stem (culm) and in the cereals is 
usually considered as being the uppermost internode at the apical node of which 
the head or spike is attached. The portion of the peduncle just below the head 
is often called the “neck,” and when this is pubescent or covered with hairs, is 
here referred to as a “ hairy neck.” 
The peduncle of rye is more slender than that of wheat, and its upper portion, 
the neck, for a distance of a fraction of an inch to three or more inches below the 
head, is usually covered with short hairs readily discernible to the naked eye. 
The lower segments of the rachis are also pubescent, but only the neck character 
is here considered. In some cases the hairiness, located around the apical node. 
