77 



Still another important departure in the system of selection nas been 

 made. Where formerly starting points for new and better races were sought 

 for from far and wide and without regard to the variety in which they were 

 found selection is now limited to the best varieties. 



The principle recognized in line breeding work at Svalof has been widely 

 observed in the leading breeding centres in Europe. In Denmark it is the 

 leading principle; in Austria it is applied by Pammer and Vanha, while 

 Fruwirth, the Austrian investigator, has discussed its merits and its advant- 

 ages over the old system of Form-separation. 



While artificial hybridization, as we shall see in a moment, must occupy 

 a front place in all scientific breeding work, yet the search for superior bio- Line- 

 types among the best old varieties must always be pushed forward with zeal Bree(Iin 9 



and intelligence. The possibility of locating superior tvpes through line- 



r varieties 



breeding, together with the fact that only a comparatively small number mns t continue 



of individuals can be tested at a time renders it practically impossible to com- 

 pletely exhaust the material which nature offers. The rich experience of the 

 Scandinavians as well as that of other Europeans has led to the almost 

 unanimous opinion that old races, especially in the case of oats and barley, 

 should not be allowed to become extinct. The reason for this opinion is that 

 once an old race disappears there may go with it a valuable source of new 

 and still unexploited material. At the International Congress of Agriculture 

 at Vienna, 1907, it was resolved "that a systematic collection of old native 

 races be made and that these be carefully catalogued and described as a 

 basis for further breeding." A committee consisting of such men as Fruwirth, 

 Tschermak, Eriksson, Vanha and others was appointed to take this matter 

 in hand and work out a basis for the preservation and further exploitation 

 of native races.* 



The popularity of the leading pedigree oat sorts in Sweden affords a 

 striking example of the manner in which an old race can come to be displaced. 

 Thus the Victory oat has largely displaced the common Probstier variety 

 from which variety were taken practically all the best pedigree sorts of 

 white oats of medium-early ripening type now in cultivation in Scandinavia. 

 Fortunately the Danes retained a sort belonging to this group known as 

 Danish Island, and from which a sample was secured six years ago for testing 

 at Svalof. The results of this test were surprising in that the old discarded 

 mixed sort has excelled all new pedigree sorts tested with the exception of 

 Victory. A number of new lines have been developed out of several hundred 

 taken in line-breeding work from this old sort, and results to date seem to 

 indicate that at least one of these will come to occupy first place. 



In regard to the common autumn wheats of middle Sweden, Nilsson- 

 Ehle has made a strong plea for their conservation in view of the many 

 desirable qualities which they possess. Despite all the work which has been 

 done with wheat, these sorts still hold first place in respect of hardiness and 

 quality, although Bore and Pudel, two pedigree sorts to be described later, 

 seem to combine a greater number of good qualities, such as yield and stiff- 

 ness of straw, with a reasonable degree of hardiness. The above author 



*Internat. landwirtsch, Kongress, Vienna 1907. 



