RELATIONS TO OTHER SCIENCES 721 



Great progress has also been made in this country in the study of 

 the physics of the soil, with the result that vast new areas, like the 

 alkali soils, are being reclaimed; and crops have been found for many 

 other soils which were supposed to be useless. The proper compre- 

 hension of the relation of the soil to moisture has expelled many of 

 the empirical methods of culture, and has given us a new conception 

 of the meaning of tillage. The same may be said of the relation of the 

 soil to heat. 



The main object in all farming being the production of larger 

 yields and better quality of crops, scientific men have given a large 

 share of their energy in recent years to investigations having these 

 objects directly in view. This work has included the testing of field- 

 crops, fruits, and vegetables, for the purpose of finding those best 

 suited to given regions and conditions; the improvement of methods 

 of culture, the production of improved varieties by selection and 

 breeding, and the better utilization of the product. Burbank's mar- 

 velous work in new flowers and fruits, trees and plants of all kinds, 

 has at last received the popular recognition it has long deserved. 

 The possibilities in this direction now appear almost limitless. 



The staple crops of the country, such as wheat and maize, or 

 Indian corn, have been the subjects of much investigation, covering 

 every phase of their improvement by selection, breeding, tillage, 

 fertilization, harvesting, curing, preparation, and utilization. The 

 results have been of vast practical value. Those in the cases of wheat 

 and corn will illustrate the progress made. 



Not only has it been shown that the quality of wheat for special 

 purposes can be materially changed at will to suit necessary con- 

 ditions or special wants, but the productivity of races or types of the 

 grain can be fixed by systematic seed-selection. For plants can be 

 bred just like animals. Burbank's wonderful work is so well known 

 now that we need not describe it. At the Minnesota Experiment 

 Station new varieties of wheat have been produced by breeding and 

 selection, which, we are told, will increase the yield in the hard-wheat 

 region of the Northwest by from three to five bushels per acre. Re- 

 duced to a practical basis, this means an increase in the wealth of the 

 three states, Minnesota, and North and South Dakota, of from 

 $20,000,000 to $40,000,000 annually. The yield and quality of wheats 

 in that region has already shown a marked improvement as a result of 

 the distribution of seed of two or three improved varieties. As varie- 

 ties suitable for other sections will undoubtedly be originated in due 

 time, the results that will accrue when these methods have been 

 extended to all the wheat-producing areas of the United States can 

 hardly be imagined. The wheat crop of this country for the year 

 1902 was 675,000,000 bushels, valued at $425,000,000. The average 

 yield of wheat is only a little over thirteen bushels per acre, con- 



