lo May, 1909.] 'Wheat Improvement Committee. 291 



90.08, the lowest on the list, with Federation next to it. It is somewhat 

 doubtful it" the graded seconds of Comeback would receive full market 

 rates, the grain being smaller than that of Federation. Eighty or more 

 bags of graded seconds of the last named wheat when sold in the open 

 market obtained the full market price. 



From the miller's standpoint the variety wliich, irrespective of other 

 milling properties, gave the least amount of graded offal, should command 

 the higher price, as there is a wide variation between 90.08 per cent, of 

 Comeback and the 97.83 of Dart's Imperial or the 96.09 of College Purple 

 Straw. Possibly the high gluten-content and quality of Comeback would 

 narrow the relative worth considerably, did millers purchase wheat accord- 

 ing to test of gluten-content and quality, but as this is practically not done, 

 at least among grain buyers, then the variety that yields well and returns 

 the least offal should command the best price. 



It will be noticed in the second tabulated list that the relative order 

 of the varieties coming into ear is more marked than the relative order of 

 ripening. In reality there is a closer relationship, but, owing to the few 

 hot wind days, the later varieties ripened rapidly and approximately about 

 the same time as the earlier ones. This accounts to some extent for the 

 variation in the size of the grain of each variety owing to the premature 

 ripening of the lateral stools. 



For many years I have contended that the great problem is to develop 

 medium-large to large grained varieties of wheat rich in good gluten, 

 This is because our climatic conditions do not as a rule allow of a gradual 

 and even ripening of the grain, with the result that so much pinched grain 

 is found during some seasons. If the variety is small-grained and 

 pinched, it will not usually sell for milling purposes ; if the variety pro- 

 duces large grain, then, even if pinched, it has a market value. In this 

 respect I differ from several wheat-breeders I have met. They have en- 

 deavoured to acclimatize the Fifes of Canada, which have been grown 

 for twenty years at the College. A number of these, though rich in gluten, 

 are not suitable foT Victoria generally, and when at the best here are 

 only doubtful substitutes, as in Canada they grow under climatic condi- 

 tions which, for these varieties, are ideal. The problem, then, is to so 

 improve the varieties suitable to the climate that both as regards vield 

 and qualitv they mav compete successfully in the open market with the 

 best produced in any other country. I would suggest that sufficient of the 

 standard varieties from the diffeient .stations be in future sent to- a common 

 centre and there mixed in order to strike the weight per bushel for com- 

 parison wdth the iF.A.Q. sample of commerce. I believe, too, valuable 

 data for future reference could be obtained if the original F.A.Q. sample 

 of grain of each vear he tested for gluten-content and qualitv. 



A considerable numlier of crosses between varieties have been made by 

 myself and my enthusia.stic assistants. I have some promising crossbred 

 varieties in which Federation blood plavs a conspicuous part. Over 200 

 experiments relative to the production of bunt-resi.stant varieties and the 

 effects of fungicides ha\'e been carried out by me and will be considered 

 in a future report. 



