1920.] 



Plant Breeding at Aberystwyth. 



639 



not compare favourably with plots sown with Gloucestershire 

 seed.* 



The foregoing account refers to investigations which are 

 regarded as necessary preliminaries to the actual breeding 

 work with herbage plants. The plan adopted with reference 

 to breeding grasses and clovers follows closely that at present 

 employed at Svalof and in Denmark, and aims at selecting 

 from promising indigenous plants. It is interesting to note 

 that this procedure has in the past actually been put into 

 practice in this country, and with apparently good results. 

 For some unaccountable reason, however, it has never been 

 followed up and m,ade the subject of long continued and 

 exhaustive scientific inquiry, and no proper precautions have 

 been taken to maintain the purity of such strains as have been 

 selected. Thus Peter Lawson and Son, writing in 1852, t refer 

 to and give particulars of no less than twelve leading " sorts " 

 of perennial ryegrass, but to-day samples offered under well- 

 known names such as " Devonshire Evers " and " Pacey's " 

 seldom appear to have any very distinctive characteristics, the 

 name, but not the strain, as such, having been handed down 

 to the present generation of farmers. 



Two methods are now being employed at Aberystwyth, 

 namely, the collection of seed and the digging up of plants 

 in toto and bringing them to and planting them in the gardens. 



As a first step the seed of indigenous grasses was collected 

 more or less in bulk from several different districts. } The 

 object was merely to ascertain whether indigenous seed (with- 

 out special selection) compared favourably or the reverse with 

 the ordinary commercial and imported stocks. Cocksfoot, tall 

 oat grass, crested dog's tail, meadow foxtail and Timothy were 

 in the first instance collected and sown, and perennial rye- 

 grass, tall fescue and rough stalked meadow grass have since 

 been added to the species thus brought under preliminary 

 investigation. 



(To be concluded next month.) 



■* It must be pointed out that neither lucerne or sainfoin have grown in 

 the district, and it is possible that the Italian lucerne and sainfoin plants 

 may prove to be relatively hardy and lasting. 



f Ibid. 



J This work was commenced under the auspices of the Technical Division 

 of the Food Production Department during the summer of 1918. The Station 

 therefore owes it to the Ministry that a considerable amount of seed was 

 available and made over to the Station for sowing in the gardens in 1919. 

 Thanks are due to Dr. Brenchley, Mr. Fryer, Mr. Jenkin, Miss Sampson, 

 Mr. H. H. Dunn and others who helped in the original collection of seed 

 for the Food Production Department. 



