Sgcrion IV, 1902. PSE Trans. R.S. C. 
1V.— Further Experiments in Plant Breeding at the Experimental 
Farms. 
By Wm. SAUNDERS. 
Director of Experimental Farms. 
(Read May 27, 1902.) 
Experiments and observations in connection with the cross- 
breeding of plants have been conducted from year to year at the 
Canadian Experimental Farms since their establishment in 1887-8. 
In 1894 the writer presented a paper to the Royal Society of 
Canada on the progress of these experiments, in which some details 
were given of the results obtained from the crossing of varieties of 
wheat, barley, oats and pease, with the object of obtaining new sorts, 
more productive, earlier in ripening, and higher in quality. Reference 
was also made at that time to crosses obtained with different sorts of 
gooseberries and raspberries, and to some hybrids between the black 
currant and gooseberry. 
In the present paper some particulars are given of further pro- 
gress in these lines of work. 
Cross-bred Wheats. 
Experiments have been conducted with this important cereal since 
the spring of 1888, and several hundreds of new varieties have been 
produced, among which some very promising sorts have appeared. 
The Red Fife, universally recognized as a variety of the highest 
excellence, which produces most of the celebrated “No. 1 hard wheat ” 
of Manitoba and the North-west Territories, has been used in many 
of these crosses with the object of producing a variety equal to the 
Red Fife in quality, productiveness and vigour, but which would ripen 
earlier and be more rust-resisting. With this in view, early ripening 
sorts have been brought from different parts of the world, especially 
from countries where the season is short. The Red Fife has been 
bred with these and the crosses obtained have in many instances been 
found to possess some of the desirable characteristics of both parents. 
Among other early experiments the Red Fife was crossed with 
Ladoga, an early ripening Russian wheat, and from this source very 
promising varieties were produced. Among the more notable exam- 
ples are the two wheats known as Preston and Stanley. The Red Fife 
