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In celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday, the Citizen is rolling out one fact each day for 150 days until July 1, highlighting the odd, the fascinating and the important bits of Ottawa history you might not know about.

The discovery of Marquis Wheat is considered to be one of the greatest practical triumphs in Canadian agriculture. Charles Saunders discovered the hardy strain working at the Central Experimental Farm in 1904. Finding himself without a proper lab, wheat mill or even an oven, Saunders judged the quality of Marquis Wheat by chewing grains of it in his mouth until a “dough” was created. When Saunders eventually gained access to a lab in 1906, his makeshift assessment of the grain’s high quality was confirmed.

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— Sabrina Nemis