TWELFTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART XI 589 



interests, grain exchanges, took part in the deliberations and expressed 

 willingness to give financial assistance to any practical project having 

 for its object the encouragement of movements looking to the use of bet- 

 ter farm seeds. Prof. R. A. Moore, of Wisconsin, who has done some very 

 valuable work in originating improved varieties of grains in Wisconsin 

 and of distributing them among the farmers all over the state, had been 

 secured to tell what has been accomplished in his state. Professor Moore 

 delivered a most forcible address and showed in a striking manner what 

 he has accomplished during the past 13 years. Briefly his plan is as 

 follows: The crop department of the experiment station is constantly 

 busy breeding and improving the common farm crops, such as oats, wheat, 

 barley, corn, alfalfa, clover, etc. When it has developed a superior 

 variety the seed is multiplied till 200 or more bushels have been obtained. 

 If the variety still seems promising, enough seed is sent to members of 

 the Wisconsin Experiment Association — to be described later on — who 

 test it and compare its yield with the old varieties in use. If the result 

 is favorable each member of the association saves all the seed the acre pro- 

 duces and then plants as large a field as possible the following season. 

 The station then helps these seed growers to dispose of their surplus 

 stock at prices not to exceed twice the market value of ordinary grain. 

 Much of this good grain is sold to neighbors and thus old run out varie- 

 ties are gradually displaced by new and better ones. 



The Wisconsin Experiment Association is an association composed of 

 young men who have attended the Wisconsin Agricultural College or any 

 other agricultural colleges in the country. They are men who have 

 studied grain breeding and development, and are, therefore, in position 

 to do intelligent and effective work. At present the association contains 

 about 1,6.00 members. Two varieties of corn have already been distributed 

 among these co-operators or scientific seed breeders. One variety is 

 especially valuable for the northern part of the state and the other for 

 the southern portion. Superior varieties of oats and barley have also 

 been introduced and as a result the average yields of grain for the state as 

 a whole have been materially raised. The new varieties of corn yield 

 from five to ten bushels more per acre than the old ones. The same is 

 also true of the improved varieties of oats, barley, and wheat that are 

 already quite generally grown over the state. 



Last year, for example, a new variety of barley was distributed among 

 1,500 co-operators. Next year these men will produce enough grain of 

 this new variety to furnish seed for the whole barley acreage in Wisconsin 

 and during the year following Wisconsin will produce enough seed barley 

 of this new strain to plant the world's entire barley acreage. Commercial 

 seedsmen are enlisted to aid in the work of distribution. 



So far these Wisconsin seed growers have grown and harvested their 

 seed in accordance with instructions furnished by Professor Moore, who 

 is secretary and manager of the association. In consequence of this, a 

 uniformly high grade of seed has been produced which is finding ready 

 sale not only in Wisconsin and near-by states, but also in many foreign 

 countries. Unless other states take this work up in the near future Wis- 



