28 
HYBRID WHEAT. 
From “THE TIMES,” 
More than thirty years may be counted since any 
known experiments were made in this country in the 
so-called hybridisation of cereals with the view of 
obtaining new and more valuable varieties. High 
importance, therefore, attaches to a feat of the present 
harvest which has been accomplished by Messrs. 
Carter and Co., of High Holborn. This is the pro- 
duction of veritable novelties in wheat by crossing some 
of the finest kinds hitherto resulting from selection. 
Entirely new sorts have now been developed ; and 
these ought properly to be described as “ cross bred ” 
rather than “hybrid” wheats. The cross breeding of 
cereals involves a delicate operation, demanding the 
skill and judgment of an expert. These interesting 
operations are being prosecuted at Messrs. Carters’ 
experimental grounds. Forest Hill. And, so far, the 
results have proved as gratifying to these capable 
experimenters as they are valuable to the agricultural 
world. It was observed at a very early stage of growth 
that in some cases the hybrid or offspring partook of 
the creeping and drooping form of the male parent 
instead of the upright habit of growth of the female. 
Later it was seen that in some of the wheats the 
offspring had the smooth chaff of the male, instead of 
the peculiar woolly chaff of the female which had been 
employed in producing it. These results are repeated 
in the crops of the present harvest ; and we have had 
opportunities of verifying the observations both at the 
time of the wheat coming into ear, again when ripe for 
gathering, and further, when threshed or, rather, 
rubbed out by hand. 
In one instance (No. 19 of the experimental triple- 
rows) the female parent is a short-strawed, velvet- 
chaffed wheat, and the male a very large bearded and 
tall American variety. The offspring is about a foot 
taller than the female parent, the chaff is more or less 
smooth, and the thick ears bear minute awns at the 
apex of the chaff of each grain. These points in 
serrated order from top to bottom of the tier of sets 
September 5th, 1885, 
having been observed to be obnoxious to sparrows, 
this new variety of wheat has been distinguished by the 
name “Bird-proof.” In No. 13 the female parent is 
the well-known early kind Talavera, and the male 
parent the Royal Prize Red. We are able to confirm 
Messrs. Carters’ observation that, in this case, the 
offspring ripened and was readj' for harvesting fully 
fourteen days before either parent — a peculiarity ob- 
served both last year and in the present season. It 
may, therefore, be expected that this new variety will 
prove of especial service for sowing in those countries 
where the seed time is in spring and earliness is an 
important consideration. The ears are much finer and 
the grain appears to be greatly superior as compared 
with the Royal Prize Red, and a fortnight earlier than 
that variety. As English millers are said to mix 
certain proportions of red wheat with imported white 
for the purpose of giving strength to the flour, Messrs. 
Carter have sought to blend together the qualities of 
red and white in one progeny ; and as only such 
varieties as are already known and liked by millers 
have, in most of the experiments, been the parents 
employed, it may be anticipated that high milling 
value will distinguish the offspring wheats. 
Among noticed peculiarities of the new wheats, some 
exhibit in a high degree firm setting of the grain, or 
non-liability to be shaken out by winds — a desideratum 
for New Zealand wheat-growers, who are accustomed 
to leave the crop until dead' ripe before taking off the 
ears with a “stripper.” Another new sort is remark- 
able for the short, thick, and strong nature of the 
straw, bidding fair to defy any weight of rain to lodge 
it, and being especially adapted for poor, cold, or wet 
soils. 
A very important feature of the experiments is the 
remarkable vigour and productiveness of one and all 
of the hybrids as compared with the parents, the 
cultivation being the same for all. 
