26 
Journal oj Agricultural Research 
Vol. XXX, No. 1 
saliva and sterilis types of articula¬ 
tion. 7 ’ The description of mass color 
for this strain was “mummy brown.” 
Kansas No. 6094 (C. I. No. 1923) 
also was received from Prof. L. C. 
Burnett, of the Iowa Agricultural 
Experiment Station. Professor Bur¬ 
nett has given the following history 
and description for this strain: “A 
pure-line selection made from Burt bv 
Norton before 1906, at the Funk 
Brothers’ Farm, Bloomington, Ill. For 
many years this was the only variety of 
Burt at Ames and still is a~ very good 
line. 7 ’ The following description was 
given this strain as grown at the Kansas 
station in 1919: “ Awned, smooth and 
pubescent grains, light yellow to brown 
in color and with both sativa and sterilis 
types of articulation. 7 ’ The mass color 
of the florets of this strain was de¬ 
scribed as “pale buckthorn brown. 77 
EXPERIMENTAL METHODS 
The previous observations of the 
writers had shown marked variability 
in the Burt oat and arrangements were 
made for studying the problem co¬ 
operatively. Experiments were started 
at the Akron Field Station and at the 
Kansas Agricultural Experiment Sta¬ 
tion in the spring of 1920. In order to 
coordinate the experiments at the two 
stations experiments with the Akron 
selections were discontinued and only 
the Kansas strains described above 
were used. 
METHODS IN 1920 
Kernels were selected individually 
from each of the nine different lots of 
bulk seed described under “Experi¬ 
mental material. 77 The attempt was 
made to select from each of the nine 
strains about 25 kernels representing 
each of the recognized phases of the five 
characters studied. These characters 
and the number of different phases 
originally recognized were as follows: 
Spikelet disarticulation, 3 phases; floret 
disjunction, 2 phases; basal hairs, 3 
phases; awns, 3 phases; lemma color, 6 
phases. It was not possible to find so 
many as 25 primary kernels represent¬ 
ing some phases of some characters, 
while more than 25 were readily ob¬ 
tained in other cases. Only primary 
or lower kernels to the spikelets were 
chosen for study. Somewhere between 
2,000 and 2,500 kernels were individu¬ 
ally selected. About one-third of this 
material was retained for sowing at the 
Kansas station and the other two-thirds 
taken to Akron for sowing there. 
At Akron, Colo., those kernels from 
each strain which represented one 
phase of each of the five characters were 
grouped together and grown as a single 
class. Each plant in each class was 
numbered at maturity and handled 
individually thereafter. At the Kan¬ 
sas station each kernel was described 
individually and given a pedigree num¬ 
ber before sowing. With this excep¬ 
tion the method of procedure at the 
two stations differed in minor details 
only. 
There was a slight difference in the 
manner of describing the original ker¬ 
nels at the two stations. At Akron the 
nature of the awns was described for 
each kernel, while at Manhattan only 
the presence or absence of awns was 
noted. At Akron only a few of the 
original lower kernels were classified as 
having an intermediate type of spikelet 
disarticulation, while at Manhattan 
they were separated rather equally into 
the three groups based on the manner 
of disarticulation. At Akron a color 
class, containing variegated kernels, 
was recognized in 1920, while no such 
class was recognized at Manhattan. 
With one exception, seedlings of all 
strains were made at the Akron Field 
Station and the Kansas Agricultural 
Experiment Station in 1920. No seed- 
ings of kernels from the Kansas strain 
No. 5219 were made at Akron. The 
methods of seeding at the two stations 
were very similar. Sowing at Akron 
was done on April 29 and 30 inside a 
screened shelter, in 10-inch rows with 
the plants 4 inches apart in the rows. 
At Manhattan, Kans., sowings were 
made on April 15, the late spring 
having made sowing at the normal 
time impossible. At that station the 
kernels were spaced 6 inches apart in 
12-inch rows. 
Before harvest the plants grown at 
Akron were numbered individually and 
notes were taken on the number and 
height of culms, number of panicles, 
length of main panicle, and date of 
heading. At Manhattan notes on date 
of heading and ripening were recorded. 
At Akron at harvest time the plants 
representing each of the score or more 
EXPLANATORY LEGEND FOR PLATE 5 
Lemma colors of six strains of Burt oat in 1919. A to D.—Kansas No. 6004: A, light red; B, yellow; 
C, light red; D, white. E to G.—Kansas No. 6052: E, light red; F, yellow; G, white. II to K.—Kansas No. 
6076: II, dark brown; I, red; J, yellow; K, white. L to 0—Kansas No. 5020: L, dark brown; M, light 
brown; N, reddish yellow; O, white. P to S.—Kansas No. 5211: P, black; Q, dark brown; R, red; S, white. 
T to W.—Kansas No. 6094: T, black; U, dark brown; V, grayish red; W, yellowish white. 
