30 AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND THE FARMER : 



seed farms of about 400 acres in area, acquired by gift and 

 purchase, and these are now being used for seed growing and 

 variety trials. In addition, the Institute is the headquarters 

 of the ofificial Seed Testing Station for England and Wales, 

 and owns and operates the Potato Testing Station at Ormskirk, 

 Lancashire, where the official trials of potatoes for immunity 

 from Wart Disease are conducted. 



The more important breeding investigations that are being 

 conducted at the Cambridge Plant Breeding Institute refer to 

 wheat, oats, barley and potatoes, and we shall deal with them 

 in that order. Then, leaving for a moment the work at Cam- 

 bridge, we shall go on to describe the research in progress at 

 the Aberystwyth Station, reverting to Cambridge in order to 

 illustrate, by reference to some further enquiries there proceeding, 

 the limitations under which plant breeders labour for want of 

 further knowledge on certain points of fundamental importance. 



Plant Breeding Institute, Cambridge. 

 Wheat.— li is well-known that in one outstanding respect, 

 namely, in baking quality, or " strength," English varieties of 

 wheat are distinctly inferior to much of the wheat that is 

 imported. One of the first objects that the Cambridge Institute 

 set out to attain therefore was the production of a type of wheat 

 which would grow well under English conditions and produce 

 a crop of grain sufficiently " strong " to meet the requirements 

 of the miller. It was found that this quality of grain known 

 as " strength " could be passed on from parent to offspring. 

 Long extended investigations resulted in the discovery of 

 varieties of wheat capable of producing exceedingly " strong " 

 grain under English conditions, and by cross-breeding these with 

 heavy-yielding English varieties, new types have been built 

 up which are satisfactory as regards both yield and " strength." 

 One of these varieties, " Yeoman," has now been in general 

 cultivation for four seasons, and has rapidly made its way to 

 the front on account of its heavy-yielding capacity. While, 

 however, " Yeoman " has good milling qualities, and is freely 

 bought by millers, it is not equal in " strength " to the best 

 of the imported wheats. The Institute is therefore attempting 

 to improve the strength of Yeoman wheat, while retaining, or 

 even increasing, its yielding capacity. For some years all 

 parts of the world have been searched for wheats, and the best 

 of these types, whether from Tibet, Persia, Abyssinia or elsewhere, 

 are being used as parents. As an indication of the importance 

 of the work it may be mentioned that many millers now refuse 

 to accept " soft " English wheat. The Institute has therefore 



