REPORT OF TEE DIRECTOR 33 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



from one generation to another. This being the case, the breeding of new alfalfas 

 and clovers siinpJy means isolation and propagation of those types of the said forage 

 plants which possess superior characteristics in the directions mentioned. 



In breeding for hardiness, the selection of hardy types is performed by Nature 

 herself. Severe winters and adverse conditions in the early spring weed out all tender 

 types, leaving uninjured only those which possess hardiness enabling them to survive. 

 Ey propagation of the surviving individuals in an experimental Held a crop is secured 

 in which all the individuals are hardy and in which, as a consequence, winter-killing 

 resulting from tenderness is reduced to a minimum. 



That, realljr, by propagation of surviving individuals, hardy varieties can be pro- 

 duced, has already been demonstrated in several instances. As an example may be 

 quoted the results of alfalfa experiments at the Substation at Port Vermilion, Alta. ' 

 At this Station, alfalfa has been experimented with for many years, but, unfortunately, 

 without success. In 1913, alfalfa seed was secured from a few plants which liad 

 proven able to withstand very severe winters. This seed produced a crop, in which 

 winter-killing was hardly perceptible. 



Similar results from other parts of Canada all confirm the correctness of the idea 

 used by the Division of Forage Plants as a basic principle in breeding for hardiness, 

 that, namely, hardiness of alfalfa can be achieved by propagation of hardy individuals, 

 no matter from what " variety " they originate. 



lin breeding for increa-sed yield, so-called pedigree breeding is being applied, i.e., 

 the breeding is being started from individual plants possessing superior characters. In 

 order to. secure material for this work, a number of outstanding plants were either 

 self-fertilized or cross-fertilized in 1913. From the seed thus obtained a number of 

 individual plants, totalling over two thousand, have been secured and transplanted iu 

 the experimental field for further study. 



Breeding work similar in character to that outlined above is also well under way 

 with red clover. The work with red clover has among other things revealed a fact 

 whicli may prove of the greatest importance for those parts of Canada where a high 

 degree of hardiness is essential for successful clover growing. It has been found that 

 certain types of red clover are perennial in character, i.e., are able to live four years 

 or more. Efforts are being made to produce, from such plants, a perennial and, as a 

 consequence, i>erfectly hardy red clover variety. 



Grasses. — A total of about three thousand timothy plants secured from self-ferti- 

 lization of individuals having certain characters indicating superior forage value are 

 being studied. The nature of the breeding work with timothy, as explained in previous 

 reports, makes it impossible to expect results after only a few years' breeding work. 

 The results obtained so far indicate that the object aimed at, viz., the production of 

 uniform varieties of a superior forage value, will be materialized in due time. 



Breeding work, similar to that under way with timothy, has also been started with 

 Orchard grass. Western Eye grass. Meadow Fescue, and other grasses. 



WILD GRASSES. 



The herbarium material of grasses and kindred plants necessary for the correct 

 understanding of the nature and merits of natural pastures and of hay made from 

 wild grasses is steadily being increased. In addition to a va.«f collection of grasses, 

 made principally in British Columbia, about 800 sheets of European grasses and sedges 

 have been secured through exchange. 



A great number of specially selected grass specimens have been collected for 

 exhibition purposes. The majority, representing 17.5 different species, are being 

 exhibited in the Canadian pavilion at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, 

 San Francisco, California. 



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