﻿35 
  

  

  carob, 
  or 
  St. 
  John's 
  Bread, 
  will 
  also 
  grow 
  over 
  wide 
  areas 
  in 
  the 
  

   arid 
  southwest. 
  Five 
  varieties 
  of 
  the 
  small 
  but 
  productive 
  wild 
  

   almond 
  have 
  been 
  found 
  by 
  a 
  Government 
  botanist 
  growing 
  upon 
  

   the 
  shores 
  of 
  Pyramid 
  Lake; 
  while 
  Frank 
  Myer, 
  Plant 
  Explorer 
  of 
  

   the 
  Department, 
  brings 
  back 
  from 
  Turkestan 
  accounts 
  of 
  wild 
  

   almonds 
  producing 
  good 
  fruit 
  on 
  mountain 
  slopes 
  with 
  a 
  rainfall 
  of 
  

   8 
  inches 
  a 
  year. 
  These 
  productive 
  plants, 
  several 
  of 
  them 
  legumes, 
  

   adjusted 
  by 
  nature 
  to 
  this 
  region, 
  with 
  alHed 
  species 
  in 
  other 
  con- 
  

   tinents, 
  seem 
  to 
  hold 
  before 
  the 
  plant 
  breeder 
  the 
  possibiUties 
  of 
  

   hundreds 
  of 
  thousands 
  of 
  square 
  miles 
  of 
  Western 
  orchard 
  ranges 
  

   of 
  high 
  productivity, 
  rather 
  than 
  the 
  present 
  would-be 
  grass-ranges 
  

   of 
  low 
  and 
  declining 
  productivity. 
  

  

  I 
  beUeve 
  that 
  the 
  development 
  of 
  a 
  tree 
  crop 
  agriculture 
  offers 
  

   one 
  of 
  the 
  greatest 
  possibilities 
  in 
  constructive 
  conservation 
  of 
  nat- 
  

   ural 
  resources. 
  Individuals 
  cannot 
  be 
  depended 
  upon 
  to 
  do 
  it. 
  

   The 
  work 
  is 
  too 
  slow. 
  A 
  man 
  might 
  by 
  decades 
  of 
  work 
  create 
  

   species 
  that 
  would 
  be, 
  if 
  fully 
  utiUzed, 
  worth 
  a 
  hundred 
  million 
  

   dollars 
  a 
  year 
  to 
  a 
  state 
  hke 
  Pennsylvania; 
  yet 
  he 
  would 
  be 
  unable 
  

   to 
  reaUze 
  personal 
  gain 
  from 
  the 
  results, 
  provided 
  he 
  had 
  secured 
  

   them. 
  Institutions 
  must 
  do 
  it. 
  It 
  is 
  hke 
  the 
  Geological 
  Survey 
  

   and 
  the 
  Census 
  Bureau 
  and 
  Agricultural 
  Experiment 
  Stations, 
  

   which 
  depend 
  upon 
  appropriations. 
  The 
  appropriations 
  depend 
  

   upon 
  the 
  realization 
  of 
  the 
  importance 
  of 
  the 
  work. 
  There 
  are 
  

   interesting 
  examples 
  of 
  similar 
  work 
  already 
  in 
  operation, 
  of 
  which 
  

   the 
  following 
  might 
  be 
  mentioned: 
  The 
  Agricultural 
  Experiment 
  

   Station 
  of 
  Arizona 
  has 
  started 
  a 
  twenty-four-year 
  series 
  of 
  experi- 
  

   ments 
  in 
  breeding 
  the 
  date 
  palm. 
  In 
  North 
  Dakota, 
  where 
  the 
  

   bhzzards 
  kill 
  nearly 
  all 
  the 
  ordinary 
  fruits, 
  an 
  experimenter 
  has 
  

   done 
  much 
  work 
  in 
  the 
  breeding 
  of 
  hardy 
  strains 
  of 
  apple, 
  cherry 
  

   and 
  other 
  trees. 
  

  

  Then 
  followed 
  a 
  display 
  of 
  lantern 
  slides 
  showing 
  scenes 
  from 
  

   Spain, 
  Portugal, 
  Balaeric 
  Islands, 
  Sicily, 
  Corsica, 
  Italy, 
  Algeria, 
  

   Tunis, 
  France 
  and 
  southern 
  and 
  central 
  United 
  States. 
  This 
  col- 
  

   lection 
  of 
  pictures 
  revealed 
  a 
  surprising 
  amount 
  of 
  tree 
  crop 
  agri- 
  

   culture 
  already 
  worked 
  out 
  but 
  needing 
  wider 
  apphcation. 
  

  

  The 
  meeting 
  adjourned 
  without 
  discussion 
  of 
  either 
  lecture 
  at 
  

   10 
  p. 
  M. 
  

  

  