Winter Meeting. 243 



There is a man in South Dakota who has been breeding plants for 

 some years and has ahiiost accomplished wonders. He was the first 

 man sent by our government to foreign countries to seek for trees to be 

 introduced. We refer to Prof. N. E. Hansen of the South Dakota Agri- 

 cultural College. Professor Hansen says that heretofore we liave been 

 too dependent upon what chance seedlings might occur under our obser- 

 vation, but that the time has come for us to study what new varieties to 

 invent for certain conditions. In other words, we may now breed plants 

 with certainty, and are not dependent on sports or chance variations. In 

 breeding for better apples, says Professor Hansen, we will never reach 

 perfection until we combine the qualities of the Spitzenburg and the sell- 

 ing properties of the Ben Davis in one apple, and it is quite possible to 

 breed an apple of this combination. The unequaled success of Luther 

 Burbank. the California plant wizard, was acquired by following Dar- 

 win's law, that excess af food causes variation, and his quickness and 

 accuracy of detecting superior variations. The main point brought out 

 by Professor Hansen was that we can manufacture new varieties i)y 

 crossing and variation, and that we can combine the characteristics of 

 both seedlings in the resultant plant. However, we must grow fruit that 

 is adapted to surrounding conditions. It certainly is well worth while. 



Capt. Geo. T. Lincoln of Bentonville, Ark., gave his experience with 

 du'st spraying. The work of spraying, said Capt. Lincoln, is forced on 

 us bv our enemies, the codling moth, canker, crown gall, etc. Better 

 crops and better prices are nearly alw^ays gotten for sprayed fruit, but the 

 work nmst be done thoroughly. Capt. Lincoln says that with the dust 

 sprayer he can spray 100 to 125 trees per hour. He works from 5 to 

 8 a. m. and 6 to 9 p. m. The tree must be left in a perfect cloud of 

 dust. Success with dust spraying, as in other business, is proportionate 

 with the amount of energy expended. There was quite a lively discus- 

 sion on this subject, several other succesful fruit men having failed to 

 get good results with this kind of spray. The question, of which is the 

 best has not been definitely decided. But if any one has tried either 

 method with success, we would not advise him to change simply because 

 someone else has been successful with the other method. 



The next paper on spraying experiences was by W. D. Gibson of 

 Dixon, Mo. In 1903 ]\Ir. Gibson sprayed three times with 4-4-50 Bor- 

 deaux mixture and got no crop at all. However, he w^as not discouraged, 

 but in 1904 sprayed the same way with the same material, of which he 

 keeps a stock solution on hand all the time. He got about 25 per 

 cent of a crop in 1904. In 1905 he repeated his spraying and got about 

 50 per cent of a full crop. J\Ir. Gibson has tried both liquid and dust 



