46 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS 



4 GEORGE V., A. 1914 



Attention is being given to problems in connection with the making of bread, 

 both' from a baker's point of view and a housekeeper's; and the laboratory is now 

 prepared to investigate any cases of contaminated, spoiled or suspicious flour which 

 may be submitted. 



No detailed report of the teste of this winter will be made at present, as it is 

 intended to publish a bulletin on this subject as soon as practicable, giving an account 

 of most of the work which has been done along these lines for several years. 



EXPERIMENTS WITH VARIETIES OF GRAIN AT OTTAWA. 



On the Central Experimental Farm, last season, there were grown four principal 

 series of plots : — 



1. Very small plots of unfixed types produced in the second and later genera- 

 tions from cross-bred seeds. 



2. Small propagation plots in which the new cross-bred sorts which have shown 

 themselves to be fixed in character are increased until enough seed is available for a 

 plot of one-sixtieth of an acre. A few named (commercial) sorts are also grown in 

 these plots, as well as selected strains from named varieties (commercial or other- 

 wise). 



3. The regular series of plots of one-sixtieth of an acre each, in which the com- 

 parative tests of varieties are carried on. 



■1. Larger plots of varying size where those varieties which have given evidence 

 of special merit are propagated on as large a scale as the limited amount of land (and 

 sometimes of seed) permits. Seed from the best of these plots is sent to the branch 

 Experimental Farms the following year for more extended trial. 



The following figures will give an idea of the extent of this work, last season, at 

 Ottawa: — 



Very small plots of cross-bred sorts, not yet fixed 470 



Small propagation plots 201 



Plots of one-sixtieth of an acre 434 



Larger propagation plots 45 



Total plots 1,150 



There were grown at Ottawa, last season, the following numbers of varieties of 

 wheat, emmer, oats, barley, peas, rye, beans and flax: — 



New cross-bred varieties, under numbers 426 



Cross-bred varieties, named 38 



Selected strains from commercial sorts 83 



Commercial sorts, unselected 58 



Total varieties and selections COS 



The above figures would have been somewhat larger if there had been enough 

 land available for the ( ereal Division to make possible the sowing of all the varieties 

 which were on hand. Unfortunately, a large number of barley plots had to be omitted 

 on account of the short, ige of land. 



In view of the great amount of material which is being studied, it should be 

 explained that the object in view is to test a multitude of varieties and finally though 



Ling almost all of them, to retain everything which has shown outstanding merit. 



