117 



Federation of Agricultural Organizations. 



On motiou of H. J. Wht^Mei. of Rhode Island, the chair was empowered to 

 ;i])I)oint a committee of three to ^^eciire. if possible, a federation of agricultural 

 organizations in the individual States of the Union. 



The chairman appointed on this committee H. J. Wheeler, of Rhode Island; 

 C. D. Woods, of Maine, and H. J. Patterson, of Maryland. 



Uniformity of Terms Used in Agricultural Analysis. 



Attention was called to the fact that the general session of the association had 

 referred to this section the sul).ject of nomenclature for fertilizer constituents. 

 It was moved by C. G. Hopkins, of Illinois, and seconded by C. E. Thorne, of 

 Ohio, that a committee of five be appointed to consider the nomenclature for 

 reporting the analysis of fertilizers, soils, plants, and other agricultural products 

 and materials ; that this committee should confer with a similar committee from 

 the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists, and report to this section at 

 the next annual meeting. 



The chairman appointed on this committee C. G. Hopkins, of Illinois ; H. J. 

 Wheeler, of Rhode Island: A. T. Neale, of Delaware; R. J. Davidson, of Vir- 

 ginia, and H. Snyder, of Minnesota. 



Plant Breedino — The Shakespeare of the Species. 



W. M. Hays, of Minnesota, read a paper on this subject which was subse- 

 quently withdrawn. 



B. C. BuFFUM. of Wyoming. One point brought out in the paper so ably pre- 

 sented by Professor Ha.vs it seems to me was not given sufficient weight. In 

 fact, he stated that a variety of apple was practically the same in any section 

 in which it is grown. 



The modifying influence of environment is very great. It is perhaps more 

 strongly marked in the coraparativelj- new arid region which I represent. In 

 fact, my observation would lead me to suspect that the same " homozygotes " 

 may have produced both the white man and the black man. A species supposedly 

 tixed by careful and long-continued breeding when ti-ansferred to an environ- 

 anent very different from that under which it was formed soon becomes unrecog- 

 nizable. I knew a case a shoi't time ago of an apple which belongs to Professor 

 Hay's species of the first class having no immediate modifying blood strains, 

 as it is only a part of the parent, that was j^urchased by a western nurseryman 

 from a firm in Missouri. The trees were sold to a farmer, and in five or six 

 years, when they began to bear, the farmer sent samples of fruit back to the 

 nurseryman to be named. He did not recognize the variety and sent the fruit 

 to the Missouri firm, who, in turn, could not name the variety. It was sent to 

 Mr. Taylor, of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, who reported that the apple 

 must have been a Missouri Pip]>in, but its variation had made it almost im- 

 I)ossible to recognize any characteristics of the variety. 



The hard wheat when taken to the arid region from Minnesota begins to 

 vary (piite quickly, and in a few years the kernels of grain become very differ- 

 ent. There seems to be a tendency on our arid soils, poor in nitrogen for gluten- 

 uus wheats, to become starchy, and many of the grains take on a white, starchy 

 appearance. 



In live stock the same thing pertains. A son of Corrector which has been 

 bred for hea^T meat jjolnts in the chine and twist, if taken away from the coru- 

 ■cribs and placed on a western range will begin to develop a form more nearly 



