6-7 EDWARD VII. 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



A. 1907 



REPORT OF THE CEREAI.IST. 



CHARLES E. SAUNDERS, B.A., Ph. D. 



Dr. Wm. Saunders, C.M.G., 



Director Dominion Experimental Farms, 

 Ottawa. 



Ottawa, March 31st., 190G. 



Sir, — I have the honour to submit herewith a report of the work of the Cereal 

 Division. 



As the period to be covered by this report is only from November 30th, 1905, to 

 March 31st, 1906, and as most of the experiments carried on in this division can only 

 be satisfactorily presented when the work of a full year is being considered, it seemed 

 best, under the circumstances, to give, instead of the details of the winter's work, a 

 brief statement in regard to the experiments carried on since the establishment of the 

 Cereal Division, as well as a short review of the chief features of the work of earlier 

 years. 



I have the honour to be, sir, 



Your obedient servant, 



CHARLES E. SAUNDERS, 



Cerealisf. 



ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CEREAL DIVISION. 



Though only recently organized into a separate division, the work of testing and 

 breeding cereals has been carried on ever since the Dominion Experimental Farms 

 were established. 



For the first sixteen years this work was under the immediate care of the Direc- 

 tor, but during the latter part of that period it was found increasingly difficult for him 

 to give a sufiicient amount of time to the experimental work with cereals. In the 

 year 1903, therefore the Hon. Minister of Agriculture appointed a new officer to take 

 charge of this branch of experimental inquiry, and to devote the whole of his time 

 to it. 



IMPORTATION OF CEREALS FOR EXPERIMENTAL PURPOSES. 



The original stocks of seed grain for the commencement of the experimental work 

 on the farms were obtained 'from many different sources. Varieties of wheat were 

 secured through the London (Eng.) Corn Exchange. Direct importations were also 

 made from Russia, Franco and Germany, and some very interesting cereals of early 

 ripening character were obtained from India through the assistance of the Earl of 

 Duffcrin, then Viceroy of India. Many varieties of grain were also obtained from 

 some of the experimental stations in the United States and from seedsmen and fai'mera 

 in Canada and elsewhere. 



In this way many different sorts of seed were brought together for comparative 

 test, the object in view being to determine the relative value of the different sorts in 



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