PLANT BREEDING. 37 



for grazing capacity, two being cut at fortnightly and two at 

 monthly intervals; two plants will be tested for hay, being cut 

 for first crop and aftermath ; one plant will be grown on ; one 

 will be kept for botanical examination; the remaining plant 

 will be kept for other purposes. The results will be compared 

 with others obtained by somewhat similar methods, and as the 

 result of the comparison it wiU be possible to select certain 

 types which may be used for breeding purposes. 



Oats. — In many parts of Wales and the West of England, 

 there is much cultivated land in districts of high rainfall and 

 altitude, and a need exists for a hardy winter oat which will 

 mature early enough to enable the farmer to sow a forage crop 

 after harvest. At present the varieties used locally are spring 

 oats, which are not usually harvested until September, too late 

 for an autumn sown forage crop. The Station is endeavouring 

 to supply this need, and about 160 varieties of oats have been 

 collected from all parts of the world and are being investigated 

 in small plots. The best of these varieties, to the number 

 of about 40, have been selected and tested for the past two years 

 in comparison with the local sorts in plots at the trial grounds. 

 This has involved the setting up of about 600 plots each year, 

 varying in size from small beds to 4-rod plots. Already varieties 

 have been discovered which are sufficiently hardy and early- 

 maturing, but lack the cropping powers of a really satisfactory 

 oat, and an attempt will be made to combine by breeding, the 

 early-maturing capacity of these varieties with a high yield. 



Simultaneously with this work, an investigation is being 

 made of the local " land " varieties, Ceirch du bach and Ceirch 

 Uwyd. These so-called varieties, which are in common use 

 amongst Welsh farmers, are really mixtures of various strains. 

 The Station is engaged in separating out these strains, and 

 having selected the best, an attempt will be made to improve 

 them by breeding. The aim is to produce varieties suited to 

 three ranges of altitude, varying from low-lying land to land 

 at an altitude of over i,ooo feet. 



The Investigation of Principles. 



It will be understood that, although much may be accom- 

 plished by careful breeding and selection based on the knowledge 

 that already exists regarding the science of heredity, there must 

 come a point in almost every investigation at which the plant 

 breeder is brought to a standstill for the want of more information 

 regarding the fundamental principles underlying the inheritance 

 of characters. It is not enough to know that a character is 



