380 Improvement of Crops by Selection, [august, 



The work at Svalof is based on two discoveries, first, that 

 among the farm crops there exists an indefinite number of ele- 

 mentary species which breed true; and secondly, that superior 

 individuals among those species can be quickly recognised 

 by certain morphological characters. The first discovery was 

 almost an accident; the second was the result of painstaking 

 and minute investigation, assisted by an elaborate system of 

 record keeping. 



The Swedish Society for the Improvement of Seeds was 

 founded in 1886 by landowners interested in agriculture, its 

 object being to produce by means of systematic selection new 

 varieties of farm crops yielding returns both larger and of 

 better quality. At first it was handicapped by inadequate 

 funds and inferior buildings, but some years ago fine labora- 

 tories and other buildings were erected at a cost of 300,000 

 kroner, or upwards of ,£16,000, and the present income is 

 80,000 kroner, or between ^4,000 and ,£5,000, made up as 

 follows : — 



Government subsidy ... ... ... ... 2,200 



Agricultural societies ... ... ... ... 1,100 



The Swedish Seed Co. ... ... ... ... 275 



Members of the Society ... ... ... ... 550 



Sale of produce ... ... ... ... 275 



4,400 



The staff consists of fifteen trained specialists, who divide 

 the work in such a manner that the improvement of wheat 

 is entrusted to one expert, the culture of clover to another, 

 potatoes to a third, &c. The experimental plots number 

 more than 4,000, and besides the headquarters at Svalof, there 

 is a branch experiment station at Ultuna in Central Sweden, 

 and at Lulea in Northern Sweden, while one or two smaller 

 experiment centres in each of the provinces enable the staff 

 to ascertain the agricultural value of their introductions under 

 different conditions of soil and climate. 



Group Selection a Failure. — When the work began in 1886 

 a method of selection was adopted based on elaborate weigh- 

 ings and measurings, for which ingenious and delicate instru- 

 ments were invented or introduced. To take barley as an 

 example of how group selection was carried out — a thousand 

 grains known to be superior in composition were planted 



