THE FARM INDUSTRY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 422, 3 February 1909, Page 5

THE FARM INDUSTRY.

■ PEDIGREE SEED. ; AN INTERESTING SUBJECT. NOTES BY.PROFESSOR' WRIGHTSONi; ; ; A'continuous selection of wheat from year to year (says Professor' Wrightson in : the. ." Agricultural Gazette,'.' London), results' in pedigree seed, ■ which is; analagous' to' pedigree animals, but no't : exactly, so. Seed is chosen for its perfection of form, its excellent coland. its high vitality, all of which properties are, of the greatest importance, as-it has been proved that.the.same.good properties are transraitttible.- In breeding animals the seminal characters are obscure, and the result is shown' over the entire product, and not only, in the reproductive organs.

Fecundity the Main Object. In the breeding of animals wider objects are; aimed" at,■'. for fecundity is ' by no means the'only'object, while in breeding cereals it is the principal one. It is here freely allowed that' strength- of ■ straw, • breadth of foliage, and. form of ear, or in other words, full development of the entire plant, is'also kept in view by seed growers, but yield andguality of the seminal element are their, chief-ob-ject.' There is riot the same solicitude 'as tti beauty of general form of the organism taken as a whole asihvthebreeding of animals; And attention is: directedto narrower issues. v. ; Frequent Renewal Needed. , _ The pedigree of, seed cannot be considered individually, ;as .in;the case of continuous' breeding from selected animals/but is necessarily,he;t*>rogenequs.or.,to- some- degree promiscuous in. character, as it a large flock.of sheep were ; allowed !to breed together without regulation; 'A 'field .of "wheat sown ' with 'pedigree - wheat "produces 'many millions of ears'of less assured (registerable) pedigree than; .union of individual parents..'. Tlie pedigree of;seed is,' therefore,,niore general and less! specialised than the pedigree of animals; and requires, tol.be more frequently "refreshed . or- renewed..; V-

Solf-PollenateoV , . ■ ft ..' \ It;is"true that the.actual generation, of cereals takes 'place in camera,' and 'is' not achieved by pollen grains diffused' through the , air, .and in* this j- respect '■ it. "is - a ' true montecious reproduction. The sexes are united in.."one; floret,- and frOm'.this. point' of viewthe progeny is more strictly unified than where the : -sexes'are "represented by two disf tinct parents. .'.This; of course, ensures transmission of/ the character of a cereal-,,in a marked, arid even-to. a greater,' degree, than 'in': the'-case of 'animals, but 'it only affects the produce of each plant separately,' arid'is notctra'nsmitted/to neighbouring' plants. The entire crop.is/ therefore, .the. result; of a 'multitude, of impregnations carried on independently and without relation- to; each other,- and the' result is an- enormous- number of slightly'divergent types, each of .which might.be used as a new -departure.," ■'■-.'■'

Possibilities of a Single Craln. The influence of a sire upon a herd, or of a ram upon a 'flock, in;- blending- divergent characters; has no equivalent in- breeding cereals, because each plant isV self-centred and self-fe.-tilised. ■ This - accounts . for the: common: occurrence of : new varieties in a growing' crop/ possessed of individual charactor's/ but it; also' accounts for such -newlyfound varieties breeding true.' A,new:cereal may be raised from ai single grain, but when propagation begins there is a liability to develop further changes in character. Are Screenings inferior? ,'Another.'feature: in, pedigree- seed,-, as usually. understood,' is -that- : the . largest, plumpest 'seeds'are selected, 'and the liulk; is - wihnowedj'' screened and picked' over/, so. as to exclude, all less -favoured' seeds. -This: is, of course, 'perfectly right,' but gives rise; -to reflection. In breeding animals it is not always 'thought, necessary to. use the largest; and | fattest, or event the best-looking parents', but rather those .of the purest- descent.-' pedigree, Tells.. J:.;: ,• V'^v-: ["' : T\

It is a common remark .among cattlebreeders that-a- good-looking animal 'is less' desirable than ; a perfectly-bred- ane—that is, personal-merit: may give way to a certain extent, in , favour of lineage. Neither .-.-is' plumpness a guarantee of excellence from the. breeder's point. of;.view. Fatness may , the' result of' feeding; and in the case of cereals it may be due to land; season or manuring,"; and is not necessarily' specially inherent in; .either, the animal'or .the plant. Everyone is familiar with 1 the annual outcry against over-: ted breeding animals,, and a'bull .is .'none'the' better.for .being loaded with' fat.' The case of cereals is no doubt ■■ different, for'/there is no betteroriterion.of'the merits of seed corn: than, that jit should be plump and well: ; favoured: The point, however, Wore us is that' these: attributes'may ;to a.certain degree be accidental, : arid' that the true virtue of pedigree lies outside: them,- namely, \th'e power of transmitting certain properties.' ■-.- ''■':■ Variation due to Environment. ...A .field, of pedigree crop contains many plants which have been so placed.as..to develbp'their" seed" to, perfection, and ottieis may have been' less -fortunate, but-ulL. : are presumably; equally '.'capable of •. developing under : favourable conditions. It is found by experience that screenings from pedigree s«-ed can'often give as good results as: the selected and higher-priced seed; and this may be accbunted'for by the inherent properties of:the variety, independent of the. particular; conditions under which' the smaller seeds have matured:" • -.'"'■ " ' : . '■'-.->

Advantages of Screenings. , As to the question of using screenings ir.om pedigree, seed instead of, the . higher pviced selected' seed,' it 'may' be/answered ill "a qualified way.•• There, arfe more seeds in'a bushel of smaller ; grain,. and therefore a .bushel, goes further. .-■,: It is, also less costly; arid allows the grower to sell his grain at a : good'priceand'retaiii seed -for. home:use. It 'is, in fact, an : excellent' plan with' barley. Wheat tailing. is _more likely -to contain- im-' perfect grains which may.not germinate, but many ; farmers do not hesitate;to. use goad tail wheat for seed! To speak generally, there is no reason why a 'grain 'which' has* passed ■through 'the wires ; of-a screen- should hot produce . a., -healthy, plant, and - experience S roves- that such .seed is.capable of perfecteyelopnie'nt.-." Screenings from'bailey/of highquality: is'just as-likely to produce a plump, sample' as would the- larger- seeds, and- there is always a'.good demand for screenings of better known pedigree barley.:- The safestplan, is.tcrpufcjjas'e. sufficient high-class seed each season, [ortevery jsecbnd season', as : wili securer-continuance of-heavy crops'upori the! .farm,: but, there 'is -no .reason why-the screen-' irigs of barley-should not be .used for seed. 1