DISCOVEEY OF MAKQIJIS WHEAT 145 



of improving plants by breeding; and in this work he 

 employed the services of several men, including his two 

 sons, C. E. Saunders (now Dominion Cerealist) and 

 A. P. Saunders. Before becoming Director of the Ex- 

 perimental Farms, Dr. William Saunders devoted him- 

 self to producing new and better fruits by cross-breeding. 

 Special attention was paid to raspberries, currants, goose- 

 berries, and grapes, and with these he achieved consider- 

 able success. One of his grapes, Emerald, obtained an 

 award at the Indian and Colonial Exhibition in 1886; 

 and even to-day two of his gooseberries. Pearl and Josselyn 

 (his Red Jacket), are well known, and two of his black 

 currants, Climax and Saunders, are considered excellent. 

 After becoming Director in 1886, Dr. Saunders continued 

 his work on fruits with especial reference to hardy apples 

 for the Canadian iN'orth-West.-^ However, he also struck 

 out in new directions. In particular, he focussed his at- 

 tention upon wheat and began a long series of observa- 

 tions and experiments directed toward the improvement 

 of the varieties then being grovsrn in Canada.^ 



Red Fife became the standard variety of wheat in 

 western Canada in the early eighties of the last century. 

 It was not only very productive but possessed excellent 

 milling and baking qualities, so that it was prized by 



1 Mr. W. T. Macoun, the Dominion Horticulturalist, la continuing 

 the work of Dr. Saunders on hardy apples. Vide W. T. Macoun, 

 The Apple in Canada, Its Cultivation and Improvement, Bulletin 

 No. 86, Dominion of Canada Dept. of Agriculture, Division of Horti- 

 culture, Ottawa, 1917. 



For a historical sketch of the work of Dr. Saunders in improving 

 the currant, gooseberry, and raspberry, vide Bulletin No. 66 on 

 "Bush Fruits" bv W. T. Macoun, 1907, pp. 62-64. Dr. Saunders' 

 first crosses were made with gooseberries in 1868. 



2 Vide E.xperimental Farms Reports and Bulletins from 1888 on- 

 wards; also Dr. W. Saunders' Review of the Work with Wheat at 

 the Experimental Farms in the Experimental Farms Reports for 

 1903, pp. 13-15. 



