[115] The ripe heads had to be measured and counted and compared with
respect to their size and the number of their kernels. Qualities of
grain and of meal had to be considered, and the influence of climate and
soil could not be overlooked.
Concerning the real origin of his new types Shirreff seems never to have
been very inquisitive. He remarks that only the best cultivated
varieties have a chance to yield still better types, and that it is
useless to select and sow the best heads of minor sorts. He further
remarks that it is not probable that he found a new sport every time; on
the contrary he assumes that his selections had been present in the
field before, and during a series of succeeding generations. How many
years old they were, was of course impossible to determine. But there is
no reason to believe that the conditions in the fields of Scotland were
different from those observed on the Isle of Jersey by Le Couteur.
In the year 1862 Shirreff devoted himself to the selection of oats,
searching for the best panicles from the whole country, and comparing
their offspring in his experimental garden. "Early Fellow," "Fine
Fellow," "Longfellow" and "Early Angus" are very notable varieties
introduced into trade in this way.
[116] Some years later Patrick Shirreff described his experiments and
results in a paper entitled, "On the improvement of cereals," but the
descriptions are very short, and give few details of systematic value.
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