7-Q EDWARD VII. 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



A. 1903 



REPORT OF THE CEREALIST. 



Chas. E. Saunders, B.A., Ph. D. 



Ottawa, March 30, 1907. 



Dr. Wm. Sauxders, C.:Nr.G., 



Director Dominion Experimental Farms, 

 Ottav.-a. 



Sir, — I have the honour to submit herewith the fourth annual report of the 

 Cereal Division. 



During the past year, as in previous years, a large proportion of my time has been 

 given to the various problems connected with the growing of wheat in those parts of 

 Canada which have only comparatively recently been open to settlers; but, at the 

 same time, the needs of the other districts, where farming has been carried on for 

 many years, have not been overlooked. Attention has also been given to the other 

 important cereals, as well as to those fodder crops which are included in the scope of 

 this Division. 



The very large nimiber of details which required my personal attention in con- 

 nection with the crossing and selecting of cereals, the grinding of wheat and the 

 baking tests of flour made it impracticable for me, this past year, to attend meetings 

 away from Ottawa or to undertake any long journeys for the study of cereal growing 

 in Canada. I attended, however, the annual meeting of the Canadian Seed Growers' 

 Association held in Ottawa in June and presented a paper on ' Quality in Wheat.' 



For samples of interesting cereals, I am indebted to the Department of Agri- 

 culture of the United States, the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station, Mr. 

 George Aitken of Woodstock, Vermont, the Guinness Research Laboratories, Dublin, 

 and the Department of Agriculture of Eussia. 



It gives me pleasure to acknowledge the very valuable help which has been 

 rendered to me by Mr. George J. Fixter, foreman in charge of the field work of this 

 Division. 



In the following pages I have endeavoured to give a fairly complete though neces- 

 sarily very Lnei account of some of the most important experiments carried on dur- 

 ing the past year. 



I have the honour to be, sir. 



Your obedient servant, 



CHARLES E. SAUNDERS, 



Cerealtst. 



CROSSING AND SELECTION OF CEREALS. 



Oidy a few new crosses were attempted this year, as the selection of the progeny 

 of the very large number of cross-bred sorts now on hand occupies all the time that 

 can possibly be spared for such work. Crossing is a comparatively simple matter, but 

 the work of selection which necessarily follows, for several years after the cross has 

 been made, is ditficult and exacting. 



About 1,400 very small plots of cross-bred coreiils, most of which ar:; not yet fixe 1 

 in type, were sown and from these about 4.500 plants were selected at harvest time. 



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