886 , EXPERIMENTAL FARMS 



5 GEORGE v., A. 1915 



can, however, be greatly improved througli a process of elimination of all non-hardy 

 tyi>es and by using hardy types only for the production of seed. 



The elimination of tender types takes place naturally eveiy year in any field ex- 

 posed to a severe winter. During this year, it was very marked in the alfalfa plots of 

 the Division of Forage Plants, the percentage of the plants killed being in many cases 

 very high. 



The plants in the plots referred to which withstood the winter successfully may, 

 however, be expected to represent hardy types and^ the hardiness being an hereditary 

 character, should prove most valuable. They can be expected to produce a progeny the 

 average hardiness of which ought to be superior to that of the plots before the winter- 

 killing took place. 



Basing the work of breeding alfalfa for hardiness on this very reasonable supposi- 

 tion, all the plots except a few set aside for other purposes, were allowed to go to seed. 

 In all, twenty-one lots of alfalfa seed were secured. This seed will be used for new 

 plots, which, it may be safely predicted, will represent " varieties " of a much hardier 

 nature than were the plots from which the seed was secured. 



Thus, having secured an alfalfa stock, characterized by hardiness, the Division of 

 Forage Plants can continue its efforts to improve the alfalfa by concentrating its 

 breeding work on the production of heavy-yielding varieties from a hardy stock. 



Having this, the second stage of the alfalfa breeding work, in mind, the Division 

 has this year paid considerable attention to preliminary work aiming at the perfection 

 of working methods to be employed in the final breeding of new hardy varieties of out- 

 standing yielding capacity from individual plants. 



Thus, during the year, extensive experiments have been carried out with a view 

 of finding the best methods whereby seed of known and controlled pedigree can be most 

 satisfactorily produced from individual plants of outstanding merits. These experi- 

 ments, M'hich consisted of a series of artificial fertilizations, both self-fertilization and 

 cross-fertilization between flowers belonging to different plants, varied in many difi^erent 

 ways, were most satisfactorily conducted by Mr. F. S. Browne, B.S.A., Assistant to the 

 Dominion Agrostologist, and promise to be of great value for the breeding work which 

 the Division is planning for coming years. 



In order, also, to secure a stock of individual plants from which to select promis- 

 ing types as -mother plants for new varieties, twenty-five lots of forty plants each, 

 making a total of one thousand plants, were transplanted in the breeding field during 

 July and August. In order to facilitate the study of the peculiar characteristics of 

 each individual plant, the plants were arranged 3 feet apart each way. 



The land used is heavy clay. On account of the very dry weather during August 

 and September, the plants made a far from satisfactory growth. They therefore 

 entered the winter in a rather poor condition. 



CLOVER. 



"What has been said about the non-uniformity of alfalfa also applies to clover. 

 There docs not exist, in fact, any uniform variety of clover. All so-called " varieties " 

 consist of a very great number of forms, differentiated not only as regards character- 

 istics easily discernible to the eye, such as mode of growth, colouring and shape of 

 leaves, etc., but also as regards properties which only by closer study can be revealed, 

 such as hardiness and duration. 



This ascertained, it is evident that the breeding principles, applied to alfalfa, also 

 can be used to advantage witli clover. In other words, clover can be improved both by 

 mass-elimination of undesirable forms, particularly those that are lacking in hardi- 

 ness, and by breeding from distinct individual plant? having most desirable characters. 



Breeding for increased hardiness. — In order to obtain, by natural selection of the. 

 hardiest types of clover, materially superior varieties, i.e., varieties more able to with- 



Ottawa. 



