ON AGRICULTURE TO CANADA 91 



of improving his property and adding to his material and aesthetic 

 comfort. The prosperous wheat farmer of to-day will do well to 

 provide for the coming time when mixed farming will have to be 

 his mainstay. 



4 



Cereal Division 



Though only recently organised into a separate division the work 

 of testing and breeding cereals, has been carried on ever since the 

 Dominion experimental farms were established. For sixteen years 

 this work was under the immediate care of the Director, Dr William 

 Saunders, but in 1903 a new officer in the person of his son, Dr C. E. 

 Saunders, was appointedto take charge of this branch of experimental 

 enquiry, and to devote his whole time to it. 



The work carried on has included the importation and trial of 

 varieties of wheat ^secured from many sources. In this way many 

 different sorts of seed were brought together from all over the 

 world for comparative tests, the object being to determine their 

 relative value in yield, earliness, strength of straw, quality of 

 grain, etc., when grown closely together under conditions as nearly 

 uniform as possible. Many varieties, and a few interesting ones 

 that may prove valuable, have been obtained from abroad from 

 time to time. But the conclusion arrived at is, that as a rule 

 greater success will be obtained by breeding new varieties at home, 

 rather than by importing varieties bred in other countries under 

 climatic conditions usually quite different from those of Canada. 



The system of uniform test plots which has been practised since 

 the start of the experimental farms, has been found very suitable 

 in reaching conclusions as to the relative merits of varieties of grain. 

 The size of plot has been changed frequently, but of late years the 

 standard has been one-fortieth of an acre. Smaller plots than this 

 are not regarded as satisfactory for cereals, and larger plots are not 

 practicable at the Central Experimental Farm owing to the large 

 number of plots required. 



A very large number of varieties have been tested. Some 

 have proved distinctly inferior to others and have been 

 rejected after a few years' trial so that the work might be kept 

 within reasonable bounds. These systematic tests have not only 

 given valuable information in regard to the varieties in general 

 cultivation, but have also enabled the experimental farms to 

 distribute among farmers a selection of the very best among the 

 newly produced sorts. Moreover, for the information of farmers, 

 some of the most important conclusions drawn from the tests are 

 published annually along with short lists of the varieties recom- 

 mended for general cultivation as well as for special purposes. 



Other problems that have engaged the Cereal Division Staff are 

 the quantity of seed to sow per acre, and also the best time to sow. 

 In Canada seeding is very much lighter than in the Old Country. 

 Experiments are being conducted to determine the best quantity 

 of seed to sow in the case of wheat, oats, and barley on both heavy 

 and light soils. The results vary somewhat from season to season, 



