64 



time. But the time will soon arrive when there will be no further 

 varieties to introduce better than we already have. The work now 

 being done by the Section of Seed and Plant Introduction of the Divi- 

 sion of Botany of this Department is especially hastening- the approach 

 of this period. So far as our knowledge goes at present, there are 

 now but two regions in the world which produce varieties likely to be of 

 particular value to this country from which we have not already secured 

 seed for trial in considerable amounts. These regions are (1) the north- 

 ern portions of India and China, including Tibet, and (2) Abyssinia. 

 There ai"e still some of the very best varieties to be obtained, however, 

 from regions alread}" drawn upon, such as southeast Russia, Turkestan, 

 and Japan. No more important work could be done at present than 

 that of securing all these new sorts from different regions, for of 

 course it is a great waste of^ time and labor to the wheat breeder to 

 spend years in the production of varieties having special qualities if 

 other sorts alread}^ possessing these qualities can be readily obtained 

 from other countries. 



But, as stated at the beginning of this report, although many valu- 

 able improvements have resulted and are likely still to result from 

 introduction, there are often certain combinations of qualities found 

 to be extremely desirable for a particular region which, so far as we 

 yet know, do not exist in an}" one variety, native or introduced. Such 

 ideal sorts are therefore to be acquired by improvements of the vari- 

 eties now in use, which must be accomplished through hybridization 

 and selection. Besides, in certain varieties ideal in other respects, such 

 qualities as rust resistance, yielding capacity, etc., may exist already, 

 but not to a sufficient degree. In such cases these qualities must be 

 increased by selection of seed from individuals which exhibit them to 

 the greatest degree. But manifestl}" the greater number of varieties 

 one has at hand, either native or introduced, especially if these have 

 been chosen with great care, the greater are the number of chances 

 offered him for selecting and improving these qualities. The trial of 

 introduced sorts, therefore, in comparison with native ones simply 

 gives one a practical knowledge of the facts herein discussed under 

 the heading '"Sources for desirable qualities." With these facts in 

 mind, together with those concerning characteristics and needs of the 

 different wheat districts, one is prepared for effective work in wheat 

 improvement. 



IMPROVEMENT BY SELECTION. 



During the last thirty or forty j'ears considerable work has been 

 done in wheat breeding through selection, though it is only a begin- 

 ning in comparison with the great amount that ma}' be done. It may 

 be of interest to note a few of the most important instances of the 

 actual production of new sorts in this wa}'. 



