136 
Pedigree  Seed  Corn. 
Coming  nearer  home  similar  work  in  other  countries,  and 
with  climates  more  like  our  own,  may  be  briefly  referred  to. 
Sweden. — The  Seed  Station  at  Svalof  in  Scania  is  probably 
at  present  the  most  completely  equipped  organisation  in  the 
world  for  the  breeding  and  study  of  the  cereals.  The  investi- 
gatory part  of  its  operations  is  supported  by  a grant  from  the 
State.  A number  of  valuable  new  races  of  wheat,  barley,  and 
oats  have  been  raised  there,  and  a large  proportion  of  the 
grain  now  grown  in  Sweden  consists  of  these  pure  races.  This 
organisation  provides  not  only  for  the  raising  of  new  races  by 
selection  under  a most  complete  system,  and  in  later  years 
also  by  hybridising  on  Mendelian  lines,  but  also  for  continuous 
testing  of  these  races  in  different  districts  in  comparison  with 
older  varieties  in  respect  of  yield  and  quality.  There  is  an 
independent  commercial  department  working  in  association 
with  the  station  which  distributes  seed  of  pure  races.  Many 
of  these  have  become  well  established  in  other  parts  of  Europe 
and  in  America. 
Denmark. — The  system  of  “variety  testing”  of  barley 
adopted  for  a long  series  of  years  by  the  Royal  Agricultural 
Society  of  Denmark  was  described  in  a paper  to  the  Farmers’ 
Club  in  1905.^ 
Here  also  there  is  abundant  evidence  of  the  value  of  the 
results  to  the  grain  growers  of  the  country.  Many  thousands 
of  comparative  tests  have  been  made,  and  the  system  adopted 
is  a model  for  all  such  trials  in  respect  of  continuity  and 
method.  The  last  estimate  of  the  average  yield  of  barley  in 
Denmark  is  considerably  higher  than  in  Great  Britain, 
although  the  climatic  conditions  are  certainly  not  more 
favourable. 
Ireland. — The  Department  of  Agriculture  in  Ireland  com- 
menced an  extensive  series  of  variety  tests  of  barley  in  1901. 
The  results  have  been  fully  reported  on  from  time  to  time 
in  the  publications  of  the  Department,  and  recently  a compi- 
lation of  them,  entitled  “ Barley  Cultivation  in  Ireland,”  has 
been  written  by  Mr.  A.  McMullen.  Very  definite  conclusions 
have  been  arrived  at  with  regard  to  the  respective  values  of 
different  varieties,  and  the  Danish  results  have  been  fully 
confirmed. 
It  would  appear  to  be  proved  that  the  same  races  of  barley 
were  generally  most  productive  in  both  countries,  and  these 
races  are  now  rapidly  superseding  others  in  many  parts  of 
Ireland. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  these  trials  have  been  of 
great  benefit  to  the  barley  growers  of  Ireland.  The  average 
' Beaveu  : “Yield  and  Quality  of  English  Barley,”  Journal  of  the 
Farmers'  Cluh,  December,  1905. 
