488 ANNUAL. REPORT^ OF THE Off. Doc. 



suits. The Cornell Aj::riciiltiiral Experiment Station lias 12,000 

 timothy plants, each 30 inches apart, obtained from more than 200 

 different sources from different parts of the world. A certain plant 

 out of these 12,000 produced 86 heads at the age of nine months. In 

 this manner some of the Experiment Stations have sought by cros 

 sing, selecting and testing to improve wheat. Professor Hays of 

 Minnesota, now Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, has produced 

 a number of new varieties or strains, notably Minnesota No. 169, 

 which he believes has made possible the increase in the yield of 

 wheat in Minnesota one to two bushels, or 5 to 10 per cent. Saun- 

 ders has produced in a similar manner a number of varieties of 

 wheat and barley which have been useful to the farmers of Canada. 

 Farmers should always be on the lookout for chance variations which 

 they may select, propagate and thus possibly make useful. One of 

 the most noted examples of this sort of selection is in the case of 

 Fultz wheat, one of the best and most commonly grown varieties 

 of wheat, which history tells us was a chance selection of some beard- 

 less heads selected from Lancaster, a red-bearded variety, in 1862, 

 by Abraham Fultz, Mifflin county, of your own State. 



Conclusion: In closing, allow me to repeat that the individual 

 plant is the result of environment and heredity. To the farmer, a 

 particular crop is the result of many factors, including season, soil, 

 seed and strenuousness on his own part. He has not been too strenu- 

 ous in the preparation of his soil, his eternal vigilance against 

 fungus diseases and insect enemies has not been misplaced, he has 

 not exercised any too much judgment in the rotation of his crops, he 

 should be more careful in the selection of his seed than has been the 

 custom. He can no longer afford to raise scrub-plants. If his own 

 seed is inferior it will probably be a waste of time to try and im- 

 prove it. Get a fresh start, preferably from a neighbor who pro- 

 duces superior crops. Unfortunately, an attractive advertisement 

 of a wonderful new variety is not sufficient evidence of its value. 

 Most wonderful improvement has been made in the past century 

 in the improvement of vegetables, fruits and flowers which have 

 added both to the health and happiness of mankind to an extent that 

 only those who have studied the influence of the dietary of past 

 ages fully comprehend. Comparatively little improvement has 

 thus far been made in the staple field crops, particularly in the cereal 

 crops. As I have tried to suggest, one reason for this is the lack 

 heretofore of systematic effort upon right lines. The selection has 

 not been from the best plants, except in the case of corn, and the 

 hereditary power of the individual plants has in no case been tested. 

 It must be remembered, however, that the cereals have all been cul- 

 tivated for centuries. While the attempt to add one grain to an 

 ear of corn or to a head of wheat or oats it is quite worth while, no 

 revolutionary improprovement can be hoped for, and in all attempts 

 there must be more failures than successes. For this reason the 

 greater will be the honor and profit to those who do accomplish 

 marked improvement. It will be years before the majority of 

 farmers will adopt the methods which I have outlined as possible. 

 Herein lies a suggestion for those of you who can see the same possi- 

 bility in the breeding of cereals as in the breeding of domestic ani- 

 mals. If you succeed by even a little in raising better crops than 



