140 WM. SAUNDEES ON EXPERIMENTS IN 



ripened as early as or earlier than the Ladoga ; but, in common with all the other varieties 

 tested from India, they have been found lacking in vigour and productiveness. 



The chief purpose in view in continuing cross-breeding experiments on grain has been 

 to produce in the cross-bred examples a combination of the good qualities of the parents, to 

 obtain early ripening varieties of the highest quality, vigorous in growth and productive. 

 In the endeavour to attain these desirable ends the Red Fife has been crossed with the 

 Ladoga and the Indian varieties. While most of the crosses thus obtained are earlier than 

 Red Fife, the advantage in earliness does not appear to be so great in these new sorts as it 

 is in the Ladoga or the Indian wheats. The experience had with these cross-bred varieties is 

 not yet sufficient to admit of positive statements ; it would appear, however, that the aver- 

 age gain in point of earliness will probably be about five or six days. It has been shown 

 that by infusing Red Fife blood into the Indian wheats the crosses become much more 

 vigorous and productive. 



The Red Fife is a beardless wheat and the Ladoga a bearded variety. Some of the 

 progeny from this cross have been bearded like the Ladoga, while others have been beard- 

 less like the Red Fife. One of the most promising crosses between these two varieties has 

 been named Alpha, and it is beardless. Another promising cross between the Ladoga 

 female and the White Fife male (which, like the Red Fife, is beardless) has been named 

 Stanley. A number of other promising sorts have been obtained by crossing the Red Fife 

 with the Indian varieties, notably with those known as Hard Red Calcutta and Gehun. 



The Stanley wheat is a beardless sport from a strongly bearded form. The cross was 

 effected in 1888, and the resulting kernel sown in the spring of 1889. This produced a 

 plant with several heads of bearded wheat. The kernels of these bearded heads sown in 

 1890 sported to such an extent that more than one-half of the plants produced heads which 

 were almost or entirely beardless. These beardless heads were selected and sown separately 

 in 1891, when they sported again to some extent back to bearded forms. The beardless 

 heads were again selected, and from 5 lbs. 1| oz. of grain sown in 1892 one hundred and 

 thirty pounds were produced. From this stock the branch experimental farms were sup- 

 plied, and in 1893 the beardless sports were comparatively few, and it is believed that this 

 variety is now fairly well fixed in type. 



Where a bearded wheat has been used as the female, a large proportion of the crosses 

 have been bearded. Usually with the second sowing, both the bearded and beardless sorts 

 sport, the beardless varieties commonly producing bearded sports, while the bearded sorts 

 more rarely produce beardless sports. The bearded varieties will vary in the length and 

 stiffness of the beards, and many of them vary in the colour of the chaff and also as to its 

 smooth or downy character. 



In a cross between Red Fife, male, and an Indian wheat known as Spiti Valley, female, 

 both beardless, several distinctly bearded sorts were produced in the second generation. 

 Any of these forms may be made permanent by persistent selection. About 400 new 

 forms of wheat in all have been produced at the experimental farms during the past five 

 years, and there are still under test 227 varieties. 



Some success has also been had in crossing winter wheats with spring wheats. These 

 are included in the number of crosses mentioned. 



In crossing varieties of barley very distinct hybrids have been produced between the 

 two-rowed barley (Hordeum distichou) and the six-rowed [Hordeam- hexastichon). These ap- 



