THE FARM.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 680, 13 March 1885, Page 11

THE FARM.

EUTURE CORN GROWING. A series of three letters upon the above subject, by Major F. F. Hallett, has been published in the Agricultural Gazette. The first two were more or less local, but the third is on a wider basis, and applicable to any locality. We therefore reproduce it and hope our readers will benefit thereby : My second letter concluded with the statement that striking variations are found, not only between different variations of wheat, but also between different plants of the same variety ; further, between the different ears of the same plant; and, yet further, between the grains of the same ear. I will commence this, my third letter, which is to treat of the geeat principle of selection, with a still wider statement, viz., that it seems to be the universal law throughout organic nature that no two individuals are absolutely alike, and yet that each produces “ after its kind.’’ We have, then, rariation and heredity as

the great principles running throughout organic nature. Perhaps no jfrnore familiar illustration can be given than that of a well-known flock of sheep. To the ordinary observer nothing can well seem more alike than the sheep composing such a flock’; but the shepherd knows them all apart, as well as he does the members of his own family. To almost every one it is a familiar fact that there is such a thing as a “ breed,’ 5 and that the individuals composing if differ from each other while keeping true to the breed. But for the principle of heredity, “like producing like,” there could be no such thing as a breed or variety of animal or plant. If like produced absolutely like there could be no improvement. Although the results obtained by selection in agriculture and in horticulture have been before the eye 3 of all, yet no one has ever applied the same method of scientific selection to the cereals. Our advertising columns are now full of the word selection as applied to cereals, but if those of a quarter of a century ago be searched not a vestige will be found of any such word so applied. I pass by, for the present, suggestions made by ancient writers as to size of grain or position in the ear. This universal neglect of the cereals was in no way caused by their nob offering as good an opportunity of improvement by breeding (or selection) as that presented by animals or other plants. Far otherwise, for a sheep or cow produces at a birth one (or two) only, while a single grain of wheat produces a plant, the ears of which contain thousands of grains. And of these grains we can reject all but the one best grain, that one which, all having been planted, is found to produce the best plant at harvest. T!an anything approaching such a choice or field of selection as this be open to the breeder of cattle or sheep ? The advantage on the side of the wheat is even very much greater, for in the case of the above animals two to three years, instead of one, are required for each reproduction. In the cultivation of field plants other than cereals, my principle of selection (called, for want of a better {.word, “ pedigree ”) has already been applied (imperfectly, however) with very marked results. I will give the results obtained in the vine, the sugar-beet, and the cotton plant; and in all three cases the testimony is thoroughly independent and impartial; in the last official. Many {years ago an old friend from Piedmont, having a relative a vine-grower in Italy, carried back with him from here a sufficient knowledge of my system to enable him to roughly explain its principle. Some seven years after, upon my friend again visiting me, he told me that his relative, knowing him to be in London, had written to ask him if he could arrange for the disposal of his wine there, and that he, knowing pretty well the quantity usually produced, had, without reading of the letter completely through, at once applied in the affirmative. “ You may judge of my astonishment,” Baid this gentlemen to me, “ when, upon reading his letter to the end, I found that he had produced, without having increased the extent of his vineyard, three times the quantity of wine be formerly obtained, and this simply and entirely through having followed the plan of selection I had suggested to him.’* The following from Toronto, Canada, appeared in The Gardeners’ chronicle and Agricultural Gazette of March 22nd, 1873, under the head of “ Foreign correspondence ” : beet-root grower is the quality of the seed he uses ; when beets were first grown for sugar 5 per cent of sugar was the amount obtained, now 15 per cent is obtainable in favourable instauces. This has been attained entirely by the improvement on the pedigree principle of the seed. The quality of richness in the root wa3 attained by Vilmorin in the following manner Each root is a perfect plant, and, therefore, in the examination of each root for the production of seed, the quality of it had to be ascertained. For this purpose, Vilmorin had a set of mo3t delicate instruments made for the determination of specific gravity ; and he found . that the specific gravity was indicative of the sugar contained. The cups he used were no larger than a lady’s thimble, and the saccharomater, or measure of specific gravity, equally small. The roots were firs selected according to the best ordinary rules ; then a small portion of each root was punched out of it in such a part as to injure as little as possible its future growth ; the pieces were reduced to pulp, and the juice was extracted. All the roots which did not yield juice up to a certain standard were rejected, whilst those which reached the standard were planted for seed. The roots produced from this seed were found to be constantly increasing in richness and a few years of the process produced the great percentage of sugar which is now attained.” I may here mention, in reference to the foregoing, that I had, as long ago as 1860, come to the conclusion that vigour of vegetable growth was identical with the power of supporting antmal life, and. that specific gravity was the measure of both. The difficulty of determining the specific gravity of a grain of wheat without impairing its vital vigour Was, however, found insurmountable. The next instance is cotton-growing. In The Times of India, November 6tb, 1869, an article headed “Cotton Report,” referring to the conclusions recorded by Mr Walter Cassels, in his work prepared and printed on account of Government, says : —“ Because lacs of rupees had been in a long course of years expended in cotton experiments, and these had resulted in a long list of failures, it seems to have been supposed that the utmost had been tried in vain, and that the question had been finally set .at rest.” The article then alludes hopefully to the fact that his Excellency the Governor of Bombay, who attaches great importance to the subject as one of vital interest to the Presidency, had issued a minute, dated 10th January, 1868, in which he enjoined that what was known at home as Hallet’s pedigree system, should be most carefully applied to the growth of cotton. The minute runs thus : “In England I have had opportunities of seeing on my own land, and on the properties of other gentlemen, how muoh can be effected in the improvements of cereals by a continued attention during successive years to the selection of the best 'seed only from crops of a

common variety. The pedigree wheat, which bears the name of Mr Hallott, a Sussex gentlemen, is, in fact, a new variety which he has produced by the constant'selection eaoh year of the finest ears produced on his farm near Brighton, and by his never permitting any seed from small or inferior ears to be sown. None but the best ears selected by hand were Bet aside for the first vear for seect-$ from the produce of these the best were again in the same manner selected by hand, and his course was continued for several sueces- *

sive years ; the final result was the introduction of Hallet’s pedigree wheat, which I have known in my experience to produce a crop nearly 50 per cent, more in quantity than that produced from the best seed that could be purchased in the market, and this in the same field, under exactly the eame circumstances, and with the same care taken in the cultivation. I believe the same result may probably be obtained if the same process is adopted with our indigenous cotton. At any rate I desire the experiment to be carefully made, and will take care that funds are placed at the disposal of the Inspector-in-Chief for this purpose.” I will here remark that the foregoing but very imperfectly describes my system, which is annually to find the best plant of a variety, then its best ear, and, finally, the best grain in the best ear; and with this ultimate best single grain to re start every year. Let us see, notwithstanding, what result ensued.

Extract from Administration Report, Cotton Commissioners’ Department, for the year 187071. From Major A. T. Moore, Acting Cotton Commissioner and Inspector-in-Chief : “ Bombay, October 31st, 1871.

“Advantages of * Selection..’ —As desired'by His Excellency Sir Seymour Fitzgerald. Paragraph 35. Taking everything into considertiou, I think the fact of the heavier yield—by more than double —being in favor of the * pedigree,’ goes to show that ‘ selection ’ as desired by His Excellency Sir Seymour Fitzgerald, should be carefully carried out ; and the cultivators should be supplied from the Government crops as much seed as possible, and, at the same time, that the necessity for selection should bo earnestly pressed on their notice ; while the superintendents themselves, by carefully and steadily pursuing the same plan year by year, by selecting from all their’ crop, and again selecting from that selection, will be able apparently, if the present results may be relied on, to increase the production and fruitfulness of the plant, and in the course of a few seasons to establish a veritable ‘ pedigree,’ as unlike its parent as the * English thoroughbred, r with his long stride and the fine skin, is unlike the stock whence he originally sprang.” It seems difficult to understand how a system so simple as mine is so imperfeotly comprehended; Even Mr. Darwin in his “Cross and Selffertilisation of Plants,” thus writes of it : “Loiseleur-Deslongchamp (Les C€r£ales)_ was led by his observations to the extraordinary conclusion that the smaller grains of cereals produced as fine plants as the large. This conclusion is, however, contradicted by Major Hallett’s great success in improving wheat by the selection of the finest grains.” Here “ 6 finest ” evidently means “ largest but siza of grain is not even an element in my system of selection, while Mk. Darwin evidently supposes it to commence, if not to end, with it.

Ancient writers (before referred to) suggested picking out the largest grains, and also those from the middle of the ear. Six-and twenty years ago, in 1858, I planted 18 ears in such a manner that the plantiog of each grain of each ear corresponded exactly with its position when in the ear, and the larger grains were noted on the diagram of each planting. I found no relation whatever to exist between the best plant produced and the size, or position in the ear, of its parent? grain. To conclude what has already reached, I fear, too great a length, I will, as a shortsummary of practical results obtained, only say that crops of nine quarters of wheat, 10£ quarters of barley, and 16 quarters of oats per acre, have been produced in field culture, which is practically double the average obtained in Great Britain.— Fred. F. HaMiEIT The Manor House, Brighton, November sth.