164 SYSTEMATIZED PLANT-BREEDING 



the crop was grown, and the assumption was always 

 made that our climate positively forbade the 

 production of strong wheats. It seemed impossible 

 to put much trust in this view, for different critics 

 assumed that the notorious lack of strength in 

 English wheats was determined by such different 

 factors as lack of sunshine or an excessive rainfall, 

 or again to the fact that our soil conditions are very 

 different to those of the virgin lands of Canada 

 which produce so much of the best wheat we 

 import. The matter was evidently one for in- 

 vestigation. 



The experiments were carried out mainly 

 by the Home-grown Wheat Committee of the 

 National Association of British and Irish Millers, 

 with whom I had the good fortune to come in 

 touch at an early stage of my work, and to whom 

 I am indebted for much technical information 

 which cannot readily be acquired by the ordinary 

 student. The method employed after collecting a 

 considerable number of varieties of imported 

 wheat was to mill and bake a part of each parcel 

 in order to determine its strength as grown abroad 

 and to sow the remainder. The resulting crop 

 was then tested as before and in most cases sowings 

 for further testing were made again. The upshot 

 of a long series of trials has shown that most 

 varieties deteriorate markedly in strength when 

 grown under our conditions, and in a year or so 

 they are little if any better than ordinary English 



