New Zealand Agriculturist WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 1879. AN AGRICULTURAL SEEDS FARM.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 981, 11 June 1879, Page 1 (Supplement)

New Zealand Agriculturist WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 1879. AN AGRICULTURAL SEEDS FARM.

A modicum of practical Darwinism would, we think, be of singularadvantage to many of our farmers, for, with some few exceptions, it is apparent that little attention is paid to the progressive improvement of the cereals commonly

cultivated. We will even hazard the assertion that there are many of our ' settlers who continue to sow the produce of the same kinds of grain with which they first started, ignoring the well-known fact that such a course leads very speedily to deterioration in I the quality and yield of grain. It is now recognised as an undoubted truth

that by persevering and skilful atten- | tion to tlie selection of the best ears and kernels of grain, with a continued systematic culture, the improvement in producing power is not only increased but a fixity of type is secured. In the present state of agriculture in the Colony, it is highly desirable that every eflort should be made to produce the

largest crops of best quality at the least expense. A\ e believe a judicious change of seed, with a studious regard to the kinds best adapted to the°different varieties of soil and climate, would be attended with most satisfactory results. Indications are not wanting that our belief is shared by occupiers of land in Canterbury and elsewhere, as inquiries are being made for seed from this district. The writer's experience in Scotland enables him to testify to the importance of frequently changingseeds, particularly in the caseof wheat. In East Lothian, which is essentially a wheat-growing countv, farmers were, and, we believe, still are. m the habit of annually renewing their seed-wheat from Lincolnshire and other counties in England. The trouble and expense are far more than repaid by the increased quality and yield of wheat per acre. Mr. Hallett, whose [jcuigree wneais " ' ' laid down the following rules or axioms:—" i. That no two grains of anv cereal will produce plants precisely equal, and that therefore in any given quantity of any cereal, whether a dozen grains, or pint or a quai ter, there is one grain superior in producing power to anv of the others. 2. i hat

this superiority is inheritable. 3. That it may, by the repeated selection year after year, be greatly increased and become practically fixed.'' It is to be regretted that all attempts to establish

a successful grain show at this season of the year have failed. The collection and exhibition of grain, especially wheat, would enable farmers to select small quantities of the best kinds shown as a change, quantities sufficient to sow on carefully chosen plots of ground free from all weeds, &c., from which could be grown sufficient to sowlarger breadths the following year. The season for the sowing of wheat is approaching, and, in the absence of such a collection and exhibition, we would counsel our farmers to try every possible means to effect a change of seed. This may be accomplished by Otago farmers purchasing from Canterbury growers and vice versa. We have long cherished a hope that some spirited agriculturist in this district would devote his skill and capital to the establishment of an agricultural seeds farm. All of us know from practical observation or history what has been accomplished by the breeders of live stock from persevering and skilful selection of the best types of the various breeds of horses, cattle, and sheep; and how many of these men have not only added immensely to the wealth of the world by their improvements, but have for themselves and families realised fortunes ? The fame acquired by such men shall remain connected with their names as long as the fruits of their labors continue to distribute their diversified benefits over the world. It is not by chance that the grain and other crops of the field are so much superior in quality to what they were a century ago. Although the undivided attention and care that have done so much to improve live stock have never been given to the development of the capabilities of our cultivated cereals, there has been an improvement effected of immense magnitude through the operations of amateur . and experimental agriculturists in various parts of the world. Those who have taken a part in accomplishing this -work are, we think, entitled to world-wide gratitude. The same principles which form the base of the rulfe of breeders underlie that of any one who will undertake the important and pleasing work of fully and permanently improving the various kinds of grain and seeds required on farms. In advocating the establishment of a recognised seed farm, we set before our younger agriculturists an object of ambition of no mean order — an object, however, which for its realisation requires many, qualifications and powers not commonly united in one person. ' As a starting point it would not require a farm of large extent. and we think an area of from 200 to 500 acres of fairly fertile soil would be sufficient; but any one purposing to devote himself to such a pursuit ■would require an adequate amount of capital, for the remunerative returns from such a farm would of necessity ' only be made after a lapse of some

time. The farm once fairly established and recognised as a place where grain and seeds of the purest and best kinds could be obtained, it is no haphazard assertion to make that then the spirited owner would reap his reward in substantial profits. To be successful in obtaining a colonial reputation for the I suggested farm, the proprietor must [have enthusiasm, skill, and perseverance. He must be well acquainted with the physiology of plants, generally intelligent, and a man, moreover, of keen and close observation. We should hope there are such men now engaged in the noble profession of agriculture in the Colony, and if these remarks should come before them we would strongly urge upon them to enter upon a career of usefulness so full of promise of a rich reward in personal remuneration and in the conferring of incalculable benefits on the Colony. In the vicinity of Oamaru there are places well fitted for the establishment of a farm specially devoted to the raising of pure seeds of all kinds, and we trust in the interests of agriculture to see some one step aside from the I ordinary routine of farming and devote I his talents, capital, and time to the work of seed cultivation. It is not necessary that such an one should confine his attention to grain alone. There is a wide field for improvement in the various grasses, some of the clovers, and also in the seeds of turnips, rape, and mangolds. Any faimer whose experience has extended over a quarter of a century will recollect, for instance, the coarse, innutritious mangolds then P.GIMiP'jIVL.L/Tm'Jl the- fjiffir-nltv in their propensity to bury their bulbs in the soil, terminating in laterally fanged roots of ugly proportions, and requiring forks to dig them out one by_ one, hence creating a prejudice against a valuable root crop, a prejudice even yet not quite banished from the minds of formers. Skilful cultivation has changed all this, and still there is scope for improvement in this root crop as in all others. We make these remarks m the hope that the Agricultural Association will offer in this direction some encouragement towards an object of so much interest and importance to the agriculturists of this and other districts.