December, 1911.] 



529 



Scientific Agriculture. 



Beans. 



Yielded grain of 

 1st quality 



Yielded grain of 

 2nd quality 



From 

 large 

 seed. 



From 

 small 

 seed. 



Advantage 

 of large 



seed over 

 small. 



162 121 



6 25 



Total grain ... 168 146 15 per cent. 



Peas. 

 Yielded grain of 



1st quality 

 Yielded grain of 



2nd quality 



Total grain . 



48*5 19 



19-0 37 — 



67'5 56 21 per cent. 



In 1891, in connection with the work 

 of the Intercolonial Rust in Wheat Con- 

 ference, I carried out an extensive series 

 of experiments, selecting in a variety 

 of ways nearly 10,000 seeds of wheat, 

 each of which was sown separately in 

 holes one foot apart, in a specially 

 prepared seed bed. An extended sum- 

 mary of this very labourious series of 

 experiments was published in the third 

 report of the Conference. The follow- 

 ing short table shows some of the results 

 obtained :— 



Table showing Difference in Proli- 

 ficness of Different Grain from 

 the same Wheat Plant. 



Description of Seed 

 Sown. 



Large seed weighing 

 more than 3'5 gram- 

 mes per 100 seeds ... 



Small seed weighing 

 less than 3'5 grammes 

 per 100 seeds 



Seeds from large heads 

 containing more than 

 80 seeds 



Seed from small heads 

 containing less than 

 80 seeds 



Large seed weighing 

 more than 3'5 -gram- 

 mes per 100 from large 

 heads 



Small seeds weighing 

 less than 3'5 grammes 

 per 100 from large 

 heads 



Large seed weighing 

 more than 3*5 gram- 

 mes (jor 100 from small 

 heads 



67 



V, is 



« >>£ 

 ? S s 



> > o 

 •a g-a 



goo 



Oy3 £ CD 

 cS ^ 



> <d a 



oz. per cent. 



393 29-4 



476 24-3 



434 29-4 



21 



25 



435 23-5 — 



218 32-7 29 



175 25 '4 — 



216 26-7 20 



Description of Seed 

 Sown, 



Small seed weighing less 

 than 3 5 grammes per 

 100 from small heads 



Large seed from large 

 heads 



Small seed from small 

 heads 



260 

 218 

 260 



a) 3 ^ 

 > > o 



•a a^ 



ST30 



0<°3 



22-3 

 32 '7 

 22'3 



o3 <d?3 00 

 > fc. D P» 



<\ a» § 



47 



From this table it will be seen that 

 the large seed gave 21 per cent, more 

 grain at harvest time than the small 

 seed, and that the seed taken from large 

 heads of wheat yielded 25 per cent, 

 more than the seed taken from small 

 heads. The large seed taken from the 

 large heads only was 25 per cent, more 

 prolific than the mixed sample of all 

 kinds, large and small together. Dr. 

 Cobb, of New South Wales, has more 

 receutly experimented on similar lines 

 with similar results. In some cases I 

 continued my experiments through three 

 generations of wheat plants, selecting 

 always the best seed from the best 

 heads of the best plants, and obtained 

 thereby a marked improvement in the 

 prolificness and general qualities of the 

 wheat. At Sir J. B. Lawes' experiment 

 station at Rothamsted, there was grown 

 in one plot, eight years in succession, 

 Hallett's original red wheat. The aver- 

 age yield of this for the eight years was 36 

 bushels per acre. On another plot there 

 was grown under similar conditions 

 Rivett's derived wheat. This yielded for 

 the eight years an average of 53 bushels 

 per acre, or 47 per cent, more than the 

 original. These are striking illustrations 

 of what can be done by simple selection 

 of seed. 



In 1S92 I suggested the establishment 

 of a system of seed selecting stations in 

 Victoria f jr the perennial distribution 

 of improved seed of all kinds to the 

 different agricultural districts, but 

 though I pleaded hard for their estab- 

 lishment, it was impossible to persuade 

 the ''practical" men that there was 

 anything in the proposal. As a public 

 .protest against the reception given to 

 this proposal, I resigned my connection 

 with the Rust in Wheat Conference, a 

 body the success of whose work depend- 

 ed mainly upon the selection and dis- 

 tribution of suitable seed, 



I will conclude this list of illustrations 

 by quoting some figures from a prize 

 essay on potato-culture, written by Mr. 

 G. Maw, of Brenthall, in England, and 

 published more than thirty years ago 

 by the Royal Agricultural Society of 



