DAIRY AND SEED IMPROVEMENT MEETINGS. 2/5 



VALUE OF SEED IMPROVEMENT IN MAINE. 

 By H. S. OsEER, Orono. 



There have been great c'hanges in the characteristics of many 

 of the grains and grasses, since their native forms were first 

 observed by man. With the exception of the expert botanist, 

 very few people would be able to recognize any relation what- 

 ever between the wild progenitors and the present forms. Al- 

 most all of our present numerous varieties of wheat, oats and 

 barley have been mtroduced from the Old World, chiefly from 

 Europe and Asia, while the sorghums and rices have come 

 from the warmer portions of the Eastern Hemisphere. All of 

 the important standard varieties of forage plants have also 

 been introduced. The potato, maize, and a few other plants 

 recognize the Western Hemisphere as their native home. 



In many of the ancient writings, mention is made of the vari- 

 ous farm crops, although at that time the knowledge of their 

 growth and culture was largely empirical or was due to casual 

 observation. It was not until many centuries later that science 

 was able to partially expose the mysteries of plant propagation, 

 the phenomena of fplant growth, and the advisability of definite 

 and systematic methods of culture. 



For many long centuries man has been engaged in the im- 

 provement of the different farm crops, in as far as knowledge 

 of the underlying principles would permit, 



Darwin states that careful selection of seed was recom- 

 mended by the Roman writers on agricultural subjects, nearly 

 two ithousand years ago. Some of these crops have been cul- 

 tivated from the remotest antiquity and no doubt the principles 

 of selection have been practiced from the first, and no doubt 

 the limit of perfection so far as selection has been concerned, 

 ■has long since been reached. It is not strange, therefore, that 

 some of the crops of the present day do not appear any finer 

 than those of ancient Egypt, raised three thousand years ago, 

 although it is possible to find varieties that now produce grains 

 of an improved quality. 



