Numerous productive high-quality strains were selected at Ames from the Iowa D69 X Bond cross. They were highly resistant to the rusts and fairly resistant to the smuts. Because of their excellent performance in Iowa, seed of certain selections was forwarded for testing at the Indiana and Illinois stations in 1939 and 1940. The selection 1335-3 proved to be outstanding for disease-resistance, high yield, quality, and standing ability. It was named Clinton for the Clinton counties in Iowa, Indiana, and Illinois, the three States in which its merits became evident.

A total of 680 progeny rows of Clinton were sown at Ames in 1943 for a purification test. They were checked for resistance to the rusts and smuts and also for uniformity of plant and grain characters. Those that passed inspection were harvested in bulk. Twenty-five pounds of this purified seed was sown at Mesa, Ariz., in the winter of 1943-44, under the direction of A. T. Bartel. The resulting crop of 67 bushels was sown at Aberdeen, Idaho, in the late spring of 1944 under the direction of J. L. Toevs. More than 1,200 bushels of seed were obtained and distributed to farmers in Iowa, Indiana, and Illinois for further increase of the selection in 1945.

About 43,000 bushels of Clinton seed were produced in 1945. This supply was increased again on selected farms in 1946, to nearly two million bushels of seed that were made available to growers in 1947. Clinton has been superior to Tama, Boone, Cedar, and Vicland in Iowa, because of its better resistance to crown rust, stem rust, leaf spot, and lodging and because of its higher yield and test weight. In tests at the Iowa station, the average acre yield of Clinton has been about 16 bushels higher than that of Tama. In 49 and 42 Iowa Standard Community Grain Trials in 1945 and 1946, respectively, Clinton outyielded Tama by about the same margin.

Clinton also has made satisfactory yields in coordinated uniform nursery tests made in cooperation with agricultural experiment stations of the North Central and Northeastern States, but its general performance has not been so promising as in the Iowa tests. Clinton has stiff straw and is well adapted for combine harvesting.

Benton, a sister selection of Clinton, demonstrated its value first at the Purdue University Agricultural Experiment Station in Indiana. There it has been under test, formerly as Selection 1263-1, since 1939. More than 1,300 bushels of Benton were produced by that station in 1945 and distributed to some farmers in Indiana, Iowa, and Illinois for increase in 1946. Thus Benton is being distributed jointly by the experiment stations of the three States.

The chief advantages of Benton and Clinton over Boone, Vicland, and Tama are greater productivity, higher test weight, better resistance to crown and stem rust, and a much stiffer straw. Clinton and Benton are not entirely perfect, however; they are highly susceptible to a hitherto little-known form of crown rust, which was somewhat more prevalent in 1945 than in previous years, and may lessen their future value to some extent. Benton and Clinton are similar in their reaction to the rusts and smuts and also in productiveness, although Clinton may be slightly superior in average yield. In tests in field plots at Lafayette, Ind., Benton, Clinton, and Tama each has averaged around 68 bushels an acre from 1942 to 1945, but in the nursery yield tests at that station, Clinton and Benton averaged about 17 bushels more than Boone.

Benton differs from Clinton primarily in being 4 or 5 inches taller and in having a slightly larger kernel. Benton usually can be distinguished from Clinton in the field by the presence of a collar of short hairs just below the upper stem node. Where a taller variety is desired on the thinner upland soils, Benton may be preferable to Clinton. It also is more uniform than Clinton in certain plant characters.

Eaton resulted from an Iogold-Bond cross made at Ames in 1932. The selection was sent to the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station at East Lansing in 1940. There it was mass-selected for uniformity of plant height and grain color by E. E. Down and his associates. Eaton is an early to midseason white oat with thin hulls, high test weight, and stiff straw. It also is resistant to crown rust, stem rust, and the oat smuts. In the tests in Michigan, Eaton has been superior in yield and quality to the rust-susceptible, standard variety Huron. Its very stiff straw should make it popular for combine harvesting in Michigan.

Bonda was developed from a Bond-Anthony cross made at the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station at St. Paul. It is an early to mid-season oat with yellowish-white to white kernels of superior test weight. Its very stiff straw is more resistant to lodging than Tama and Vicland under Minnesota conditions. Bonda is highly resistant to crown rust, stem rust, and smuts. Bonda is fairly uniform in plant and kernel characters and has been a high yielder. It also is especially well adapted for combine harvesting. Seed of Bonda has been increased for distribution to Minnesota farmers in 1947.

Mindo also was developed by- the Minnesota station from the cross Bond X [ (Minota-White Russian) X Black Mesdag]. It is an early common oat with rather small yellow grains of excellent test weight. The straw is rather short, stiff, and very resistant to lodging. Mindo has the same resistance to the rusts and smuts as Bonda, and is fairly uniform in plant and kernel characters. It also has yielded high and is of promise as a new early oat for Minnesota.