The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1917-02-08
AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION

AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION
(By J. H. Seymour, Head of Agricul-
ture, State Normal School)
Wheat: It's origin, Development
and Improvement
Development and Improvement-In
the last two papers the writer sketch
ed very briefly something of the origin
and the antiquity Of wheat and its cul-
tivation. Let us now turn our atten,
ton to its consideration with refer
ence to its development and improve.
ment.
In the numerous notifications which
have taken place in plants during
their cultivation by man many may be
said to be unconscious. That is, no
scientific plan has been followed to-
bring about certain specific results.
Probably one of the best common il.
Illustrations of what Prof. Thomas F.
Hunt calls Unconscious improvement"
is to be found in certain plant which
grows wild on the limestone bluffs Of
southwestern Europe. Our common
cabbage, kale, collard, palm borecale
Brussels sprouts, kohl-rabt, rutabaga,
and cauliflower are all descendants of
this wild plant. Cabbage and kale are
leaf notifications, kohl-rabi is stem
modification, rutabaga is a root modi-
hcat1on, and caulifower Is a modifica.
ton of the Towering parts of this wild
ancestor. These forms are simply the
result of continued and patient selec-
ton of desirable variations, but with
no forward look or no conscious at.
tempt to bring forth such forms. On
the other hand the sugar beet is said
to be an illustration Of systematic and
scientific plant breeding to bring about
a specific result, namely, the increase
of the sugar content. Within a hun
dred years the per cent of sugar in
the common beet has been increased
from 5 or 6 per cent to Is to 20 per
cent in what is now known as the
sugar beet. Sometimes the sugar con-
tent is as high as rs per cent.
There are certain well-recognized
steps or methods which the plant or
animal breeder must observe in secur-
Ing Improvement: First, the method
of inducing variation. 1t is the basis
of selection and it is perfectly clear
that unless plants vary or show diff.
ferences the most promising individ-
uals cannot be selected. A second
step Is to select those individuals hav.
lngs the desired characteristics. A
third step or method consists in test
ing the forms selected to see whether
or not they are able to reproduce
themselves. There is no certainty
that plant will transmit the desir.
able characteristics it possesses until
it is tried out and the results observ.
ed. Such work is painstaking and
tedious and forms large part of tho
work of a breeder either of plants or
of animals.
Henry l.. DeVilmorin, one of the
worlds renowned authorities on plant
breeding says that selection is the
surest and most powerful instrument
that man possesses for the modilica-
ton of living organisms" The prtn-
ciple of selection has been applied to
the improvement of wheat within
century of time. LIE Couteur of Jersey
was the most notable of the early
Wheat-breeders. He noticed the var
liable types OF plants in an ordinary
wheat field, isolated % of these, grew.
them separately and finally brought
several new varieties into cultivation.
The variety of wheat named Talavera
is said to be from one of these orig1-
nal varieties. Patrick Shireff, of
Scotland, during the decade from 1880
to 1910 placed four distinct varieties
OF wheat on the market which he had
developed from promising looking
wheat plants from his fields Neither
LIE Couteur nor Shireff used repeat
ed" selections as did Major Haller
who began his work of wheat selec.
ton in 1857. His method was to Sc
lect each year the best grain from the
best head Of the best plant he could
lind, and to repeat this process for d
number of generations. He applled
the methods he had used in breeding
Shorthorn cattle. The history of his
work shows that during his first five
years work the length of the wheat
head was doubled, the number of
grains in the head as increased three
fold, and the tillering or stooling ca
i pacity was increased five times. The
strains of wheat which Hallet devel-
oped greatly increased the yield of
wheat in England during his lifetime.
Rimpau, of Germany, has been very
successful in using repeated selec-
ton and in it's application to rye cul-
ture succeeded in developing the
famous Schlanstedt rye, the leading
variety throughout Germany and
France.
We have yet to consider the meth
DDS of selection in use at the famous
Swedish experiment station at Svalof,
Sweden. Another method is that Of
Wlllet M. Hayes, founder of the
! American Genetic Association. In a
later paper the writer will sketch the
main principles Of their work.
Hugo Speier, representing Barnhart
Bros. & Spindler, of St. Paul, called
on the printing trade here Tuesday. =