636 



Plant Breeding at Aberystwyth. [Oct., 



spring sowing hardly gives the plant a sufficiently long growing 

 season. 



Of the plants that have given convincingly negative results, 

 the following may be mentioned : — Berseem (Trifolium 

 alexandrinum) , which did not come into flower, and produced 

 much less than Crimson Clover; Sulla (Hedysarum coronarium) , 

 which only grew sufficiently to produce a few pinnatifid leaves; 

 Chick Pea (Cicer arietinum), which made very slight growth and 

 did not come into flower. Khodes Grass (Chloris gay ana), a 

 native of South Africa, a grass which has received consider- 

 able attention in Australia ; Sudan Grass (Andropogon sorghum- 

 var); and Johnson Grass (Andropogon halevensis), all made 

 negligible growth. 



With regard to the improvement of existing strains of the 

 grasses and clovers in common use, it appeared necessary, as 

 a preliminary, to conduct exhaustive nationality and place-of- 

 origin trials with the commercial seed at present available, 

 with a view to making a critical study of the characteristics 

 of the plants, and also in order to ascertain the possibility of 

 selection from the best commercial strains and eventually to 

 be in a position to institute comparisons between the 

 Station's selections and the most successful nationalities of 

 imported seeds. Both field and garden plots have been formed. 

 In 1919 about 266 small garden trials, dealing with red clover, 

 cocksfoot and ryegrass were sown; this spring a further 250 

 garden plots were arranged; tall oat grass, rough stalked 

 meadow grass, meadow fescue and white clover were also 

 included, and in addition 310 rod plots* have been laid out in 

 the field. 



It is premature to discuss the results so far obtained, and 

 final conclusions cannot be drawn until the trials have been 

 repeated and conducted for a number of years, especially as 

 the chief aim of the investigations with herbage plants is to 

 obtain strains of uniform productiveness for 4- to 6-year periods. 



In the matter of red clovers, however, it is of interest that 

 the late flowering reds, certain strains of Montgomery red 

 clover, and Cornish marl grass clover, have given on the average 

 the best results in the first year. Cornish marl grass clover 

 appears to be decidedly distinctive, and has the reputation of 

 being a truly perennial plant.! Of the foreign clovers the most 



* Bod plots are always sown on the basis of a uniform and appropriate 

 number of germinable seeds to the acre. 



f This clover is grown for seed in a restricted area near Wadebridge, 

 and would not seem to be at all generally used except quite locally. 



