IMPROVEMENT OF SEEDS AND SEED GRAINS. 17 
Now I verily believe that, not only from my reading but from my observation and 
experience. I also believe in the wholesomeness of putting into practice the faith that 
is in me. That summer—1899—I put aside $100—my own money, not the public 
funds—to offer in prizes to Canadian boys and girls who would send me the largest 
heads from the biggest plants of wheat and oats from their fathers’ farms, partly to 
feel the way whether the country could be got ready to accept and adopt the principles 
and practice and partly to interest and educate the boys and girls. I had a wonderful 
response, and I paid that money in prizes with as much enjoyment as any money I ever 
spent. The letters I got from farmers and from their boys and girls were so suggestive 
and encouraging that in the following winter I went to my friend Sir William C. 
Macdonald and said: ‘Here is a great chance to do some educational work in pro- 
gressive agriculture; education not by reading alone but by having something interest- 
ing to do, something attractive, something definite, something beneficial to the whole 
community, something easy and yet with plenty of difficulties. A man may fail to | 
appreciate the educational advantages set out in a written statement, but here is some- 
thing for the boys and girls which the farmer can see for himself to be beneficial and 
which would be so helpful and instructive to boys and girls that they would go on with 
it; and the habits of observation and thought and study would go on’ with them.’ He 
asked me what I would like, and I told him I would like him to give me $10,000 for 
prizes—the price of two farms—to set and keep this thing going for three years. I 
got the money with all good will—my little $100 came back a hundredfold—to offer as 
prizes to boys and girls to encourage them to observe and study this matter of getting 
the largest heads of the most vigorous plants and growing seed from those heads by 
itself. The agents who become instruments of progress in farming and other affairs 
are men and women or boys and girls, knowledge and wealth. In this we had the 
wealth from Sir William C. Macdonald, I happened to have the knowledge at first and 
the boys and girls did the work under the incentive of the prizes. The effort has re- 
sulted in the most satisfactory progress all over Canada, from the Atlantic seaboard 
to the other coast. There was a yearly competition in and for every province; and also 
a main competition extending over three years; every boy or girl living on a Canadian 
farm who was under 18 years of age on January 1, 1900, could enter as a competitor. 
I offered ten prizes in every province for oats and ten for wheat, the prizes in the yearly 
competitions ranging from $25 for the first, down to $5 for the tenth. The boys or girls 
who sent me one hundred of the largest heads of wheat or oats from a crop grown 
on their father’s farm received -prizes to the number I have stated. One condition was 
that each competitor selected by hand out of the same crop enough similar heads to 
plant a quarter of an acre the following year. ‘lhe purpose was not to get the largest 
heads sent in, but to induce the children to plant a quarter of an acre with grain from 
large heads. The next year they would have an object lesson, they and their fathers, 
as to the value of such seeding. That was done during three years, and 485 prizes were 
paid, to the amount of $5,417, on the yearly competitions. A boy could not be ex- 
pected to work and wait three years for his first chance of a prize, and therefore, we 
had to have that 100 largest heads competition annually to keep the boys and girls. 
The main competition consisted in sowing a quarter of an acre every year with seed 
fram the largest heads selected from the most vigorous plants of the previous year’s 
plot; and the main competition was based on the yields from those. 
By Mr. Ross (Ontario): 
Q. That is, in the second year the seed was selected from the biggest heads from 
this special or stock plot? 
A. Yes. 
By Mr. Robinson (Elgin): 
Q. Did you have Indian corn too? 
A. No, only oats and wheat. Then they had to select from the plants bearing the 
most vigorous heads 35 pounds of oat heads and 50 pounds of wheat heads. That 
R—2? 
