19*22.] 



Institute of Agricultural Botany. 



1079 



evidence that they are genuine novelties obtained by hybridisa- 

 tion or selection, and that there is reason to anticipate that they 

 are superior to those already in cultivation. 



Series of barleys and winter oats have already reached the 

 " Full trial " stage, and it is anticipated that wheat and spring 

 oats will be dealt with in the coming season. 



Under specified conditions the Institute will undertake to 

 distribute stocks which have proved their value in these trials, 

 sharing profits with the producers. It has already the option 

 on all productions of Professor Biff en's Plant Breeding Insti- 

 tute, and there is reason to believe that many other institutions 

 and individuals will avail themselves of the facilities offered. 

 The proposed seed-cleaning plant wilj be required to deal with 

 these stocks, and plans have already been prepared. 



Apart from this work, collections are being made of (1) 

 Plants from abroad which might be of value under English 

 conditions; (2) Old varieties in danger of extinction; (3).Kefer- 

 ence collections of established modern varieties. Plants other 

 than cereals are included in these collections. In view of the 

 trend of present- agricultural conditions, the investigation of 

 forage crops will not be ignored. 



The Official Seed Testing Station. — Seed testing is considered 

 by those lacking technical knowledge to be a simple process, 

 little do they realise the fine points involved even in the routine 

 work of a Station which undertakes to issue reliable reports 

 on samples of any kind of seeds which it may please the public 

 to submit for test. The technique of testing requires constant 

 revision, and, this must always be the case, for the methods of 

 testing are necessarily arbitrary owing to the impossibility of 

 even an approximation to the conditions for which the test is 

 intended to furnish information. The farmer knows by experi- 

 ence the correct sowing time for the production of the most 

 favourable results; the Station's tests must be completed and 

 the reports sent out some time before this date. Thus, what 

 would otherwise be the rational method of testing — in small 

 field plots — is precluded* Indoor testing is the necessary alter- 

 native, for only thus can temperature, " seed-bed " and water 

 supply be controlled : but what control should be exercised? 

 Even a cursory study of the extremes of soil, climate and, 

 rainfall to be found even in England and Wales shows how 

 impossible it is to devise a test which will represent " natural 



