108 The Ottawa Naturalist. [Sept. 



same time to choose a pure, superior elementary type as the 

 foundation for a better strain, beUeving as he does with DeVries 

 that our ordinary strains are composed ol what the latter calls 

 "a motley mixture of types." 



This idea seems to have taken root in the minds of the major- 

 ity of our scientific breeders of to-day who recognize, in the 

 various methods they have adopted, the underlying principles 

 which have been so ably demonstrated by these men. At the 

 same time there is undoubtedly a very practical advantage in 

 following the simpler practice of selecting fluctuating variations, 

 a practice which the ordinary farmer can easily follow on his own 

 farm. 



THE CANADIAN SEED GROWERS' ASSOCIATION AND ITS WORK. 



Realizing the great national importance of the use of 

 "better-bred" seed on the farms of Canada as a whole, and 

 recognizing the fact that much might and should be done by way 

 of producing such seed on the individual farms throughout the 

 country, the promoters of this work, notably Dr. Jas. W. Robert- 

 son, took certain steps which led up to the organization of the 

 Canadian Seed Growers' Association as a means of encouraging 

 its advancement. 



The basic principle upon which the work of the Association 

 is founded is that the artificial selection of the best seed from the 

 best plants year after year without interruption is likely to 

 result in a definite improvement within the ordinary strain, 

 although the limitations of this method of selection as a means 

 of improvement are recognized. 



As to the exact course which is followed by each member of 

 the Association who desires to improve any one or more of his 

 crops through giving special attention to the matter of "breeding" 

 in his seed this in brief is as follows: The grower first decides 

 upon the variety which is likely to do best on his farm. This is 

 done by testing two or three leading varieties in plots under 

 similar conditions for the first year. The next step is to prepare 

 a special area of land of about one-quarter acre in size and to sow 

 thereon a good clean sample of seed of the chosen variety. When 

 the crop on this plot becomes thoroughly ripe the grower goes 

 through the plot with a basket or sack, picking here a head and 

 there a head, his choice being based upon the vigor and general 

 type, first of the mother plant and secondly of the head which it 

 bears. Enough seed is secured by the selection of these specially 

 desirable heads each year to give a sufficient quantity of seed 

 to sow another plot the following year while the remainder of the 

 plot is harvested in the usual way and the seed used for the main 

 crop. 



