Use has been made of activated oat seeds (activation of enzyme systems and subsequent speeding-up of germination process by soaking in running water for a given time at specified temps.) for the study of various aspects of winter-hardiness. Activated seeds of winter-hardy and nonwinter-hardy oats reacted to freezing in a manner similar to seedlings or older plants of the respective vars., as reported for field trials. The temp. of the water in which seeds were soaked prior to freezing detd. the % of survival. For every 10[degree]C rise in soaking temp., there was approx. one-half reduction in survival (Q10 = 2). Attempts were made to isolate cold-resistant plants in the laboratory from millions of activated seeds by freezing them at -18[degree] to -30[degree]C. Certain plants were isolated in connection with these studies that showed unusual characteristics, including great extension of the life-span and greatly increased bud development and tendency toward tillering.