SCIENTIFIC PLANT BREEDING.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 192, 8 May 1908, Page 8

SCIENTIFIC PLANT BREEDING.

WHAT COULD BE DONE IN NEW ZEALAND. DR. COCKAYNE'S IDEAS. . Tho engagement of Dr. Cockayno by the Agricultural Department to superintend experiments in plant breeding does not take the form of a definite appointment. Tho Department will simply employ Dr. Cockayne, as an expert, to carry on certain investigations in regard to pliormium tenax, in tho first place, and afterwards in regard to various cereals and foddor plant's. In addition to' 1 his general scientific attainments, the doctor .is specially qualified for this work by the fact that he kept a private experiment garden for over twelve years at : New Brighton, in which he personally conducted experiments of many kinds, especially in ' respect of the acclimatisation of plants and the' effects of environment on plant structure. / Ijn, a further interview yesterday, Dr. Cockayne kindly gave to a representative of The Dominion a, most interesting survey of tho-field'of work which might bo covered in New Zealand by experiments of the kind that he has been asked to conduct. Manifold Possibilities. 1 ' Plant breeding during tho last five years," the doctor said, "has assumed an altogether hew aspect, thanks to the epochmaking work ■* of Professor Do Vrics, of Amsterdam, - of Dr. Neilsson, of the Svalof Experiment Station, Sweden, and of various experimental*stations in the United States. The object in experimental plant breeding is to raise Uicw races of economic plants of a higher commercial value than those which exist nt present. The 'more intensive farming becomes, that is to say, the more £ s. d. is to be madeper acre, .the; more'necessary is it to have plants of a higher quality than those at present. The possibilities of breeding " are manifold. For instance, with regard to phormium, an ideal would be a'plant containing no' gum, and . having, say, 25 per cent, -fibre, of ai higher quality than that which is now manufactured.. " One of the problems of tho future is to find grasses suitable for the gum lands of northern Auckland. ' A certain species called,, popularly, thrives well on such: lands, but tho seed as sown does not consist of one species, but is a mixture of a great number of varieties, most of ivhich are scientifically anfl. economically unknown, and some of which are already almost certain to be better plants for ! tho barren'ground'than the mixture now used. In-the samo way, most of tho crops of cereals, even when they are supposed to bo grown from pedigreo stock, are mixtures pure and simple, and it is .necessary to separate them into their constituent entities' and find out which' are • the most profitable. Take tho case of red clover. This plant, orJ rather, collection of a great number of varieties distinct from ono another, is made up of two principal varieties called red clover and cow grass. It is absolutely certain that among the plants there'aro some, which do not require fertilising by tho humble -boo; they are self' fertile. ■ Now, it is vory clear that''a race of red clover of a high quality which was not dependent on insects for fertilisation, and of which all the individuals were of the same quality, -would be much better than a mixture of. different entities, tho' greater part of which could only produce good seed in the presence of tho humble bee." Value of Hybridising. "Of course, this preliminary selection, that is to say, choosing with judgment out of an enormous host of individuals some plant bettor than its follows, is by no means tho whole of the matter. 'Hybridising must also play its part, and, by this means tho good qualities of one variety can bo transferred to andther more valuable, ill some particulars, "but lacking the , special qualities of thd first. Of (Murse, all scientific breeding experiments require to. be-carried out with scrupulous care. Exact records need to be Kept, : and methods of tlio nicest exactitude must be followed. "Very important, indeed, for the farmers of tho Dominion are: rust-resisting wheat' and oats, blight-resisting potatoes, special fodder plants for special conditions,' but tho needs and possibilities are ; endless. ' When wo look at what is being done olsewhero, when wo see'tho splendid results',which are being achieved by/Neilsson in Sweden, by Bnrliank in California,- by. Bitten at Cambridge, and by others' in various progressive countries, we in New Zealand, with our fino climate, and our infinite variety of conditions, should surely not despair that we in like manner can add to. the wealth,of the Dominion." Importance of Basic Principles. • - " Along with the ovident practical advances that may be, gained, the carrying out of experiments .in: an accurate scientific 'manlier should assist in; throwing somo light' on those basic principles which regulate heredity, variation, 1 and the _ origin of species, and it is only by :the "discovery- of' such, basic principles that striking new departures of economic value can arise."