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formerly. Tbo same is true ol pork. Tlie Ensjlish market calls for 

 leaner pork than is made in onr,u:reatcorn-g:rowing Stjites. Pork pack- 

 ers say tliat their wares find less ready sale in the South than they 

 used to. Butchers in the Eastern States report a foiling otf in the demand 

 for fat meats. In other words, the surest possible incentive for improve- 

 ment is being developed in tln' market demand. 



The diagnosis of the difficulty leaves no dou]»t as to its nature. The 

 method of cure is equally plain. 



It is dear tliat we need to grow feeding stuffs richer in nitrogen than 

 we now have. This can be accom}>lislied by breeding and importing 

 varieties of plants richer in nitrogen and by cultivating more legumes. 



Of what may be done to improve by breeding we have abundant illus- 

 trations. Tlu^ increase of sugar in the sugar beet from 10 to nearly liO 

 l)er cent is a case in point. The comjiihition of American analyses 

 referred to above shows the percentjige of protein in kernels of dent 

 corn to rang<' fiom 7.5 to 11. -S and of tlint corn from 7 to 13.7. 



For tlie improN'ement oi corn it wonid seem tliat what is needed is to 

 select corn with large protein content an<l otherwise desirable char- 

 acter as to total product, jteriod of growth, hardini'ss. fitness to local 

 conditions, etc., and by careful breeding obtain varieties rich in pro- 

 tein. In how far this is actually feasible is a question to be settled by 

 experiment. For other grains and for grasses it may be well to imiM»rt 

 seed of foreign varieties which are already bre<l up to a high }u"otein con- 

 tent, just as we imp<Mt seed of the high bn.*d varieties of sugar beets. 

 Possibly varii'ties of maize with largo protein content might be foun<l 

 in southern ICurope where maize matures. Indeed it is not imjM)Ssible 

 that we might tind tliem at home by careful search. Perliaps, too, we 

 may already have the other grains and grasses of the desired composi- 

 tion. The subject is one which demands thorough investigation. Its 

 importance can liardly be overestimat<'d. 



Another means tor increasing the protein of our soil products ih the 

 cultivation ol nn)re leguminous plants, such as clovers, alfalfa, vetch, 

 serradella, eowpeas, jicas, and beans. The advantages of this are 

 manifold. Tlie legumes obtain nitrogen from tin* air. They do not 

 require nitrogenous manures, but where manuring is needed they may 

 be grown with the aid of the less expensive mineral fertilizers. Their 

 large proportion of prot<Mn sui)i)lies the want of tiiis material for fod<ler. 

 Mixed with poor hay, straw, and cornstalks they make a fodder eipial 

 to the best hay, as is explained by chemistry, demonsrrated by «'xaet 

 experiment, and contirmed by wide experience. The nitrogen which 

 is not stored in thebody of the aninial in the form of lean meat or other- 

 wise, reappears in the excrement and makes rich manure. 



By growing legumes, therefore, the farmer gets the protein needed 

 for fodder for his stock and the nitrogen needed for his grasses, grains, 

 and other crops. The iidvantage in botli these resy>eits is greater than 

 farmers generally appreciate. Tlie loss from insufficient protein in the 



