476 Bureau of Farmers' Institutes. 



of the roots and the stems and the leaves. These are the vegeta- 

 tive part — the part of a plant that perishes utterly when the plant 

 dies. There is another part of the plant that does not perish when 

 the growth ends, viz. : the seed that carries the life over to the next 

 crop. The conditions which make for the enlargement of the roots 

 and the stems and the leaves, do not make for increased production 

 of seeds. That is to say, the conditions most favorable to the vege- 

 tative processes of the plant are not favorable to the maturing pro- 

 cesses, but are almost the opposite. If you will allow me a paren- 

 thesis : The understanding of that principle, with the selection 

 of seeds, will do more to improve farming in Canada than any- 

 thing else I know of in regard to agriculture. The set of con- 

 ditions favorable for continued increase in size of root and size of 

 stem and size of leaf do not make for increase in the quantity of 

 seeds, but rather for the opposite. The extension of the vegetative 

 stages of development — the formation of roots, stems, and leaves 



— is at the expense of the development of the reproductive parts 



— the seeds. Take the instance of a bunch of oats growing in a 

 dung hill; what happens? A very large root, a grossly large stem, 

 broad, long leaves, and very, very, very few seeds in the head. 

 That is to say, the conditions that make for the continued enlarge- 

 ment of the root, the increase of the stem, and extension of the leaf 

 do not make for an increase in number and weight of the seeds. 

 That is an extreme case, but it reveals a principle. Now, take 

 another set of extreme conditions, where a plant can grow only 

 with difficulty, either in root, or stem, or leaf. Look on a bare 

 roadside, where a small grass plant tries to form seeds when only 

 three or four inches high ; then count the percentage of weight of 

 the whole plant made up of the seeds, and you have a revelation on 

 the other side. The conditions that make it difficult for a plant to 

 grow a larger root and a larger stem and larger leaves after the 

 time of ripening has come, make for the increase of the number 

 of seeds and the increase of the proportion of weight they bear to 

 that of the whole plant. Of course, the conditions that make for 

 the increase of size of root and size of stalk and size of leaf up to 

 a certain point, also make for the increase of seeds, because the 

 seeds are formed out of what the plant takes in through its leaves 

 and roots. But when there is an excess of available plant food in 

 the soil, only late in the growing and maturing period of the plant, 

 that may prevent seeds from forming plentifully and ripening 

 thoroughly. That is what happens frequently when farmyard 

 manure is ploughed in, in the spring, for a grain crop in Canada. 



