of white pine test materials with blister rust instead of the detached black 

 currant leaves used in former years. This new method is more rapid and promises \ 

 more thorough infection than the old one. The use of plastic hose sprinklers 

 further enhanced the possibility of heavy infection. Two hundred yo\ing white // 

 pine in a test plantation near Ottawa were selected for freedom from blister ff 



rust under conditions of heavy natural infection. / 



« 



Aspen Poplars 



New scion and seedling materials from Hungary showed great promise for 

 direct use and further breeding work. A beaker test for rooting capacity from 

 stem cuttings was devised, to replace former tests in the nursery. Mass selection 

 of some seedling populations in respect to rooting capacity was started. 



The breeding work was subdivided into: (1) Mass production of the most 

 promising hybrids for industrial use, (2) breeding of early-flowering materials 

 to serve as stock for grafting, to induce early flowering in important breeding 

 materials, and (3) incorporation of good rooting capacity from stem cuttings of 

 silver poplar and other species into aspen hybrids. Good progress has been made 

 in all these three phases. 



A new method of aspen seedling production was worked out, involving 

 the use of krilium, to improve the soil structure in seed beds, followed by 

 soil sterilization with methyl bromide. This resulted in very good stands of 

 seedlings after direct broadcast sowing. 



Several new poplar test plantations were established in co-operation 

 with wood-using industries. A new method of fixing and staining of poplar 

 chromosomes has been worked out. Some poplar wood tests were carried out in 

 eo-operation with a furniture factory using poplar wood, and several experiments 

 in the rejuvenation of old poplar materials were started» An Industrial Hybrid 

 Poplar Committee was established to utilize the products of current poplar 

 breeding efforts at the Southern Research Station. 



Two-needled Pines 



Several new materials of Japanese black and red pine were acquired, cmd 

 crosses involving shoot-moth resistant Asiatic pines and susceptible native red 

 and Scotch pine were carried out on a relatively small scale. A test plantation, 

 for evaluating resistance to shoot-moth, was established at the Southern Research 

 Station* 



