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Section IV.. 18i»4.

[ 139 ]

Trans. Roy. Soc. Canada.

IX. — iVo^^ on tin' Pro(jrcx>i of E.K/>eriine.n(s in (Jross-fertUhhnj at thi' Kj-peruneiitid

Fa nils.

By Wm. Saunders, P.L.8., F.C.S., Director Experimental Farms.

(Read May 25, 1894.)

At tlie meeting of the Royal Society of Canada held in May, 1883, I presented a paper
on "The Influence oi Sex on Ilylirids nmong Fruits*," in which reference was made to some
cross-bred or hybrid raspberries, crosses between a variety known as Philadelphia, an im-
proved form of Jiahiiti f<trl(/t)tiii.s, female, and the Doolittle Black Cap, a cultivated variety of
Eubns occideiitalift, male. From this cross a number of iseedlings were obtained which showed
distinct evidence, both in the habit of the plants and the character of the fruit, of the influ-
ence of both parents on the progeny. I also referred at that time to similar evidence which
had been obtained from cross-bred grapes and gooseberries.

Since the establishment of the experimental farms, further and more extended work has
been carried on in this direction, and during the past five years many cross-bred varieties
of cereals have been produced and some which appear to be true hybrids. Further inter-
esting crosses and hybrids have also been produced among fruits.

In May, 1888, I called the attention of this Society to the efforts which were being
made, through the agency of the experimental farms, to introduce early ripening varieties of
cereals from other countries, and to the progress being made in that direction, notably with
the Ladoga wheat, a variety of grain which had been imported from the northern part of
Russia. During the past six yearp that variety of wheat has been tested under many difl:er-
ent climatic conditions, and it has been found to retain everywhere in this country its early
ripening habit, maturing a week or more earlier than Red Fife sown at the same date. As
the result of a number of careful tests, it has been found that bread made from the flour of
this wheat is yellower and somewhat darker in colour than that prepared from the flour of
Red Fife wheat. For this reason the Ladoga is not to be recommended as a variety to be
grown on a large scale for commercial purposes ; it occupiro, however, a useful place in those
districts in the Canadian Northwest where the season is not usually long enough to mature
the Red Fife. Good Ladoga is much better than badly frosted Red Fife. The Ladoga
wheat has also been found useful as a basis for cross-fertilizing.

Another source from whence early ripening varieties of grain have been obtained is
India, where, through the kindness of Lord Dutferin, late viceroy, a number of different
sorts were collected and forwarded to Canada for test on the experimental farms. These
cereals were obtained at diflferent altitudes in the Himalaya Mountains, from 420 to 11,000
feet. All the Indian varieties tested have proven early in ripening, and two of the most
I)romising of the wheats, known under the names of Hard Red Calcutta and Gehun, have

140

WM. SAUNDERS ON KXPKRIMKNTS IN

ripened as early as or earlier than the Ladoga ; hut, iii common with all the other varieties
tested from India, they have been found lacking in vigour and productivenens.

The chief purpose in view in continuing cross-breeding experiments on grain has been
to produce in the cross-bred examples a combination of the good qualities of the parents, to
obtain early ripening varieties of the highest quality, vigorous in growth and productive.
In the endeavour to attain these desirable ends the Red Fife has been crossed with the
Ladoga and the Indian varieties. While most of the crosses thus obtained are earlier than
Red Fife, the advantage in earliness does not appear to be so great in these new sorts as it
is in the Ladoga or the Indian wheats. The experience had with these cross-bred varieties is
not yet sufficient to admit of positive statements ; it would appear, however, that the aver-
age gain in point of earliness will probably be about five or six days. It has been shown
that by infusing Red Fife blood into the Indian wheats th'j crosses become much more
vigorous and productive.

The Red Fife is a beardless wheat and the Ladoga a bearded variety. Some of the
progeny from this cross have been bearded like the Ladoga, while others have been beard-
less like the Red Fife. One of the most promising crosses between these two varieties has
been named Alpha, and it is beardless. Another promising cross between the Ladoga
female and the White Fife male (which, like the Red Fife, is beardless) has been named
Stanley. A number of other promising sorts have been obtained by crossing the Red Fife
with the Indian varieties, notably with those known as Hard Red Calcutta and Gehun.

The Stanley wheat is a beardless sport from a strongly bearded form. The cross was
effected in 1888, and the resulting kernel sown in the sj^ring of 1889. This produced a
plant with several heads of bearded wheat. The kernels of these bearded heads sown in
1890 sported to such an extent that more than one-half of the plants produced heads which
were almost or entirely beardleis. These beardless heads were selected and sown separately
in 1891, when they sported again to some extent back to bearded forms. The beardless
heads were again selected, and from 5 lbs. IJ oz. of grain sown in 1892 one hundred and
thirty pounds were produced. From this stock the branch experimental farms were sup-
plied, and in 1893 the beardless sports were comparatively few, and it is believed that this
variety is now fairly well fixed in type.

Where a bearded wheat has been used as the female, a large proportion of the crosses
have been bearded. Usually with the second sowing, both the bearded and beardless sorts
sport, the beardless varieties commonly producing bearded sports, while the bearded sorts
more rarely produce beardless sports. Tlie bearded varieties will vary in the length and
stift'ness of the beards, and many of them vary in the colour of the chaff and also as to its
smooth or downy character.

In a cross btVween Red Fife, male, and an Indian wheat known as Spiti Valley, female,
both beardless, several distinctly bearded sorts were produced in the second generation.
Any of these forms may be made permanent by persistent selection. About 400 new
forms of wheat in all have been produced at the experimental farnis during the past five
years, and there are still under test 227 varieties.

Some success has also been had in crossing winter wheats with spring wheats. These
are included in the number of crosses mentioned.

In crossing varieties of barley very distinct hybrids have been produced between the
two-rowed barley {Hordemn Jist'tchon) and the six-rowed {Hordtum hexasticlwn). These ap-

CROSS-FERTILIZINU AT THK EXPKRIMKNTAL FARMS.

141

pear to be ancient types and they arc both regarded as distinct species. The six-rowed type
has been found, according to De CaiidoUe, " in the earlier Egyptian monuments and in the
remains of the lake dwellings of Switzerland." The same author states that " the two-rowed
barley has been found wild in western Asia, and that the lake-dwellers of eastern Switzer-
land cultivated it before they possessed metals, but the six-rowed was more common among
them."

In the two-rowed barley the additional rows found on the six-rowed form are represented
by chaify scales lying flat on the face of the head. In the hybrids produced by using the two-
rowed as female and the six-rowed as male, these chaffy scales, the first season are nearly all
filled, but the kernels are much smaller, thinner and lighter than those which occupy the
normal position on either side of the head. They have also a peculiar twist in them at each
end. While the larger number of plants grown from both these forms of kernels have pro-
duced two-rowed heads, many six-rowed sorts have occurred among them some ot which are
proving very prolific. One variety which has been named Summit, grown from one of the
plump kernels, produced the first year from the single kernel 4,529 kernels and the second
year the crop was 28 lbs. The kernels in this variety have thus far been irregular in sijse
which is a disadvantage. One acre has been sown with this barley o.i the Central Experi-
mental Farm this year ; it is also being further tested on the several branch experimental
farms. Another promising sort named Surprise, produced 2,274 kernels from the single
kernel planted the first year, and 15J lbs. of grain as the result of the second sowing. From
the large number of new varieties of barley produced, many of the less promising sorts have
been discarded, while other new forms have developed as sports. There are still 79 of these
recent productions in barley under test.

Many attempts have been made to cross wheat and rye without success until 1892 when
my assistant in this work Mr. W. T. Macoun, succeeded in eftecting a cross, using a variety
of winter wheat as female, and winter rye as the male. The resulting kernel was sown in
September, 1892, and although it was a wheat kernel which was sown, the plant when young
had tlie purplish appearance of rye and the heads at the time of spearing, had stripes of
purple on the spikelets as in rye, and in other respects closely resembled rye. Nineteen
heads in all were produced but as there was not a single kernel formed in any one of them it
is probable that the flowers were imi>erfect.

Pease. — About 175 crosses have been made in this group and some very promising and
prolific forms originated particularly among the crosses of 1892. From one of these between
a variety known as Multiplier female and the Mummy pea as male the single pea produced
a crop of 185 pods containing 840 peas. Another example of the same cross has a record of
146 pods containing 730 peas. A third, a cross between the Black-eyed Marrowfat, female,
and the Mummy as male, gave a yield of 165 pods, containing 675 peas while many others
gave a return of from 500 to 600 fold. A large number of the less promising of these
crosses were discarded during the summer of 1893, but eighty-three of them have been pre-
served all of which are being grown again side by side this year, for further comparative

test.

Oats. — Some experiments have also been made with oats, with the object of bringing
about increased earliness and productiveness, stiffness of straw, plumpness of grain and thin-
ness of hull. All the less promising sorts have been discarded, but 15 varieties have been
preserved for further trial.

142

WM. SAITNI>!:US ON KXl'KRIMKNTS IN CJIOSS-FKRTILIZING, ETC.

In fruitri also niai)y additional varieties have been obtained, both by ei'oss-fertilizati(»n
and selection. LTsefnl varit^ties of gooseberries have been raised. Many new sorts of i'as|»-
berries have been produced by crossing some of the leading varieties in cullivation, particu-
larly the Cutid)ert, a large red raspberry, as female, with a large black caj) known as the
Gregg a.-^ male. The progeny are all purple caps of large size, and some of them arc very
prolific.

Probably the most interesting of all the new crosses are the hybrids which have been
obtained between the black currant Jiihes najram as female and the white variety of the red
currant Jiihes nihrnia as nuile, also the black currant as female with the gooseberry Rihes
(jrosmlavld as male. Many of these hybrids show the gooseberry and white currant blood
very distinctly in their foliage and also in their flowers. Most of those which partake of the
gooseberry and white currant types, altiiough raised from seed of the black currant, have
entirely lost in their foliage the strong and characteristic o(' nir of tin; black currant. In
two instances only in this class have F Vieen able to detect this odour, and in both of these it
is faint. The gcosebcrry and white currant blood in these hybrids is also recognized by
insects antl parasitica phuits. The gooseberry saw-fly Netnatii.s vaiitricosiif!, which avoids
the black currant, feeds freely on these hydrids, and the mildew Sphaei'otkeca )ii(>rs-i(r(r, which
attacks the foliage of the goosei)erry but does not aftect the black currant, thrives on the
hybrids. The flower clusters are intermediate in chatiicter l)etween the parents, and usually
have from three to Ave and in some instances as many as seven and eight in a bunch, thus
resendjling the black currant. No thorns have in any instance been found on the wood.
Notwithstanding that flowers have been produced on many of the bushes in abnndance dur-
ing the past season, and careful examination has failed to detect a* y defect in the sexual
organs or the pollen, tione of the fruit has set.

Sevei'al hybrids have also been obtained between one of the cultivated red raspberries
Habas striffosu.s, known as Marlboro, female, and an improved form of the blackberry Rahus
villosus, known as Agawam, male. One of these will probably fruit in 1895.