THE NEW AGRICULTURE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3016, 3 January 1912, Page 14

THE NEW AGRICULTURE.

THE SCIENCE OF SEEDS. A WONDERFUL BUSINESS.

(By A. J. Heigkway.)

(Copyright.) There are two ways of increasing tho agricultural produce of a country —by extensive and by intensive cultivation. Tho first way can be pursued only in a new and comparatively undeveloped country with a considerable area of unused land. It consists simply of extending the area under cultivation, and so, by increasing the number of acres, enlarging tho total yield. Obviously, by the very nature of things, there is a limit to the successful prosecution, of this idea. The supply of land is limited, ' and there must come a time in every country when further extension of boundaries is checked. Apparently the maximum production of that country has been attained, | and extending our view from an individual country to the whole world, we may sup- ' pose that at some time in tho future all the profitable land will be under cultivation, and the world’s production at its maximum. In that state the further increase of world population will be arrested, for, as Multibus has pointed out, the population can increase only in accordance with 1 the supply of subsistence. If the supplly of subsistence by our present method of | culture be apparently reducible to a fixed | quantity, it must be obvious that a corresponding limit is placed on the increase of the human species. But it is just at this point that the alternative method of securing an increased ! production of grain comes in. By extensive ' cultivation you increase production by increasing your acres. By v.pensive cultivaI tion you multiply your yield by making ' each acre more fruitful. It is in this direction that science is marching. A good j average at present for wheat per acre is 1 about 32 bushels to the acre. Science multij plies that 32 to 80 and to 00 bushels, and ' extends the boundary of civilisation. Science produces a single oat bead conI taining over 1000 grains—ton times as many as you will find in the best crops yet grown j And this new activity in the realm of j science is as yet of recent growth—it is i just a quarter of a century, in fact, since the first serious effort was put forth. , What, then, are tho possibilities of tho future? It is plainly the function of sqionce i to render loss and less exacting.the struggle between the geometrical and arithmctioal rates of increase respectively of population and of subsistence. J PLANT BREEDING. That country which has made tho greatest advance in the new art of plant-breed-ing is undoubtedly England—in fact, her supremacy in this respect is greater even than her superiority in the breeding of j animals. And that firm which has taken from the very commencement of the new era the lead in this work is now known ' as Messrs Gartons (Ltd.). They have now I a huge experimental seed-growing faun of over 40C acres at . A cton Grange, Warrington, Cheshire There is prosecuted the raising and cultivating of new breeds of oats, barleys, wheats, grasses, clovers, turnips, mangold-, and other plants and roots. I Tens of thousands of experimental plots i are visible to tho interested eye. And this represents but one branch of their activity, | —the purely experimental side. Onoe a ; new breed has been fixed it is not grown J for seed purposes here. The land is far ■ too valuable. It is let on contract to dif- ! ferent farmers so that the seed-growing business is in reality spread over a vast ! area. I The rise of this business —which in its 1 outcome is possibly of more interest to j humanity than any other branch of I activity—reads like pure romance. When Messrs John and Robert Garton comi moncod their experiments 25 years ago, I they did so merely as a hobby, and with no idea of the great results that would follow. The generally-accepted idea up to that time was that agricultural plants were I open to cross, fertilisation, but the theory I had never been proved. Experiments had the remarkable result of showing the falsity of this theory. The investigations made • went to show that natural cross fortilisai tion did not exist; on the contrary. Nature has provided that tile seeds of cereals should be self-fertilised. This was a surprising discovery. The majority of botanists and horticulturists had regarded the order of grasses as open to natural cross pollination —that is to say, that the pollen dust or male, element of one plant was carried to the pistillate or female element of another plant; and so cross fertilisation was brought about. By his research and I experiments Mr John Garton was forced to the conclusion that tho pistil received i pollen, and was thereby fertilised, from the stamens, or male organs of the same plant. The implication of (his discovery lies in this: Whereas before the discovery I development was tried to be effected by j cross pollination after the opening of the flowers (when, in fact, fertilisation had already taken place), afterwards (he cross pollination desired could be achieved by what was in effect a delicate surgical operation before the opening of the flower. . This discovery was the great turning point in the now art. Having discovered how to effect artificial pollination a.nd fertilisation between different plants, attempts were made at. “ regeneration First it should bo said that the method*

by which the process of artificial poll ina fcion is brought about w o - mand a wonderful combination of skill and perseverance. Marvellously dcl^ at ®- I '. strumonts are employed under thv « uc * scope, the whole operation roquir g utmost nicety of touch 1 ho ing from the cross are then carefully so«'i and observed for several successive jears. COMPOSITE CROSSING. In this crossing—the main purpose of which is to discover new and niJP r o'» varieties-one principle is followed. This is a violent cross between two or more varieties —in composite crossing the characteristics of a great many varieties may be introduced. The greater the difference between the two “parents the more molent is the resulting “sport, the good qualities of which are preserved by a subsequent judicious cross. The iitmost skill of science is brought to bear m this crossing of children or cousins, with what success a visit to those marvellous experimental plots will abundantly show. But the success of the first cross is only the beginning of a long chain of effort. In working for the success of the new grain the most meticulous care is exercised. Year by year for 10 years the crossfertilised grain is sown. Year by year 100 of the best plants from each crop are selected, and the seed sown separately. Each seed is carefully distinguished, the growth and results carefully noted and recorded Year by year there is a constant weeding out till only about three plants per hundred are left, anti then, if by that time the given cross is not satisfactory and shows no sign of becoming so, it is discarded. In working for a new and good gram the points aimed at in the cafie of oato , are increased yield, earlier maturity, and greater strength of straw', thinner husks, and greater disease-resisting strength. In the course of the experiments a curious fact was discovered —namely, that the most valuable parent m the production of a prolific yielding variety was the common English wild land oat. This is the original father of oats, and seems to have preserved extraordinary virility, for, while to all intents and purposes a weed, it possesses properties which no cultivated variety can claim. Its most important property, when crossed with a cultivated oat, is that of increasing the number of grains in the head. So marked is this characteristic, indeed, that a single seed lias returned far more than the proverbial hundredfold —immeasurably more. From a single plant there was taken the phenomenal total of 3700 grains. In the development of new varieties and tho strengthening of old, the common wild oat is thus proving of incalculable importance. When grown under extremely fertile soil conditions the ordinary cultivated oat develops sterility—tho first step in deterioration when relieved from the stress of competition,—hut by effecting a cross with wild-oat types absolute fertility has been restored, It is as though in an effete civilisation the introduction of barbarian blood effected a healthy restoration of energy. Tho form in which the increased production is manifested is in the growth of as many as five grains in a single casement. There is produced tier upon tier, and the limit to the size of the panicle seems far removed. Several abnormal developments have been observed. One was that from four to 20 grains had been grown in one panicle, but they were hull-loss. It is a fact of scientific interest that, if more than six are grown in a single panicle, the progeny arc always hull-lees. REGENERATION. “Regeneration” of varieties of o-'*-- : - not so long or involved a process as is represented by “composite uios»mg. ny tho term is meant a mild form of crossbreeding which does not materially alter tho fundamental character of the plant. ! An- example of this kind is afforded by crossing a variety grown under hardy conditions with the same plant grow r n under less favourable conditions. It is simply the same idea of introducing new vigour into a form which has slightly weakened in virility on account of easy circumstances. Farmers, in fact, would do well to remember this point: that plants, like men, soften on too much food and under too easy conditions. Tests made in Scotland of regenerated cereals gave an increase over the original yields of over 53 per cent. One of the most successful of regenerated oats was a cross between “English Abundance” and a French variety also known as “Abundance.” This gave fine results, which, however, pale into insignificance before tho achievement of the great “Giant” oat. In this result a single head contained a few grains short of 1000, or about 10 times tho number usually found in a “fat” crop. This fine attainment was due to a finelydeveloped oat being crossed with the wild oat, which, as already stated, has tho wonderful property of giving a larger and more prolific yield in the cross than In tho original. In tho face of that result it will be now more possible for practical farmers to absorb this astonishing fact: on tho experimental grounds p-t Warrington oats have been grown to yield 160 bushels to th© acre. And that result was attained without any artificial manure or any means of intensive cultivation. It was achieved simply by tho improved quality of tho seed. In that fact is found the basis for the hope that, as some cereals have doubled in productiveness in the last

30 years, so may they be doubled again in the next 30. It may be some time ( before the most prolific of these grains ; find their way into commerce. But the t time has come for the importance of this ; work to he recognised, and henceforth, as ■ recognition spreads, it is safe to say then 3 , will be a continual tendency for the yields ; of individual acres to increase. PRACTICAL PROBLEMS. Apart from the work of procuring a 'larger yield, these scientific workers at Warrington have been required to cope with a number of practical problems which haio confronted the farmers of various parts of tho world. In North America, for in- : stance, a groat danger is that of early frosts. At the critical time of the year a few clays make all the difference; there- i fore, the effort was made to establish a new grain which would ripen before there was the possibility of frosts affecting it. Selection was brought into play. Earlier ripen- 1 ing forms of oats and wheat were taken , and crossed with the ordinary cultivated varieties. After steady work and careful selection a variety* was produced to ripen ■a full fortnight earlier than the older form. The importance of this development can hardly be exaggerated. The same need was felt in Australia for an early wheat, though there the dangers to be feared were hot winds and drought. In Canada, again, a shorbstrawed variety was needed. To meet this want a couple of now varieties were successfully produced. These are called the “Reliance” and “Victor,” and are estimated to give a 20 per cent, better yield than the old squarehead varieties. In addition, they have the desired early-ripening quality. Having thus outlined tho general course followed in tho treatment of grains and the development of now varieties, it will be well to take some of the new grains which arc just being placed on the market, look at their pedigree, and sec in just what re- j snecta they show improvement on their forbears. This should bring home to us in very practical fashion the value of the work that is being done. In the spring of this year, then, there was placed on the j commercial market a new’ breed of oat called the “Record.” To got its parentage wo must go back to 1892 jn which year the oat named Abundance (familiarly ! called tho Garton) was introduced. This oat was a very fine white oat of good all- j round quality." Its one fault was that in j seasons of bad weather tho straw was too | weak to carry tho head. The groat end | was to remedy this defect. How could it be done? By crossing the Abundance with an oat which was strong in those points in which it was weak. The “Storm King” oat, as its name implies, was able to withstand very severe blasts by reason of the thickness of its straw and the strength of its husk. Accordingly, following out tho principles laid down in tho earlier part of this article, a cross was effected, and after years of experimenting the now breed called the “Record” has just been produced. But not only does tho Record remedy the defects of the Abundance in strength of straw: it increases its actual yielding capacity, by reason of tho cross introducing greater plant virility. In the past five years this new breed of white oats lias been subjected to severe competitive and unprejudiced tests in the experimental grounds against all other varieties with the folowing results: Average yield over five years per statute acre, the Abundance 89 bushels, the Record 107 bushels. That is equivalent to an increase in yield of over 20 per cent. A farmer, therefore, growing 100 acres of oats would receive for the same output of labour an additional yield of nearly 2000 bushels of oats. Is science doing anythng for the farmer? Again, the breed Bountiful affords_ a good illustration of the difficulties of arriving at a satisfactory outcome. Its pedigree is as follows:—The oat Winter Grey was crossed with Abundance; the remit was crossed with Black Winter. Goldfinder was crossed with Black Tartarian; tho offspring was crossed with the outcome of Winter Grey, Abundance, and Black Winter, and produced tho oat Bountiful, which retained the beat features of all its parents. Similarly what has been effected in regard to oats has also been achieved in connection with wheat. Tho wheat Victor, which has been in active use for three years, was produced by ’ crossing the outcome of Square Head and Red King w-ith Talavora. The resultant grain was speedily acclaimed by Lading agriculturists in all parts of the country to he the most profitable English wheat. The yields were very heavy indeed, and many crops were found in the best English counties to yield an average of 72 bushels to the acre. In a word, this wheat proved to be the heaviest grain-yielder, possessed the hardiest constitution, and gave the strongest straw. In County Council tests it frequently gave a yield of over 25 per cent, more than other varieties. How were these results attained? Simply by careful and scientific cross-breeding and regeneration. In this way is science helping the farmer, I CONCLUSION. Here it might bo wo.ll to say that the British farmer carries his agriculture to the highest pitch of scientific perfection. He has to compote with the boundless produce of the Canadian prairie and the Australian plain, where land is cheap and illimitable. His acres are ciicuinscribed. To hold his own he has to get more out of each acre. Ho can got that increased yield only bv securing the best of grain for seed and using tho best of labour-saving

devices on his fields. The colonies may have tho idea that the British faimer is slow and behind the times, that he is reluctant to grasp after new (ideas, and conservatively attached to those processes which served his father so well. That is an entirely mistaken idea. You may find examples of that type. But the real British farmer is a keen* o.nd successful business man, who is highly trained in his profession, and who farms his land with a care and caution which would make a colonial farmer open his eyes. Many and many a farm I saw which showed a care in cultivation that will not be reached in the colonies yet for half a century. And many and many a farmer is n Bachelor of Science. They take their degrees as a. matter of course. An entirely new spirit animates the land. It is now all for science and progress and up-to-dateness. The tide turned long ago, and the bed: type of British farmer is now a man of some moment. And at Warrington, in Cheshire, you see. a,s it were, the kernel of this great new movement. Without new and better seeds the British farmer could not hold his own And the time will come, and is coming rapidly in tho colonies, when by the limitation of land it will be imperative for every farmer to increase his yield by demanding from each acre a greater return. And anyone visiting the great and unique experimental farm so ably conducted by the Messrs Gartens will see the course being taken to secure the future. For there is no reason to suppose that fmalitv has been reached. Far from it. A beginning only has been made. These innumerable plots' showing side by side, the grams of 20 years, ago with the gains of the present lead on the mind to a vision of the future, when 25 years hence there will he an even greater proportionate advance. These hundreds of experimental plots ensure that—they enquire the scientific improvement of our cereal crops; they giro a. scientific assurance that tho limit to the productivity of the world is not yet in sight.