Richmond: Jones, Plant Breeder 



107 



an unnamed stock sold to a firm in 

 Canada. It is possible others reached 

 the seed trade in devious ways. Mr. 

 Jones was of the opinion that No. 6, 

 a variety widely grown in New York, 

 was really one of his wheats. 



Had Mr. Jones been less conserva- 

 tive, or had he been able to increase 

 stock sufficiently fast, he could have 

 introduced a score of varieties each 

 year instead of from one to three as 

 was his rule. 



EXPERIMENTS IN ROOT SEPARATION 



It was seldom he could practice root 

 separation to a great extent in propa- 

 gating his strains as it required more 

 time and space than he could give it. 

 His most notable experiment in 1888, 

 created much interest. The soil of the 

 experimental plat was prepared a year 

 in advance and the surface was kept 

 mellow. July 12th he planted one 

 kernel of Jones' Winter Fife wheat. 

 July 31st he separated the root, making 

 four hills from the side shoots. August 

 17th he divided again making 15 roots 

 from the four. Sept. 4th he obtained 

 75 roots and by Sept. 24th these were 

 increased to 300. Oct. 10th there were 

 505, October 31st they had increased 

 to 900. Nov. 22nd he divided again 

 having 1140 roots. Thirty-six of these 

 winter-killed leaving 1104. Some of 

 these had from 18 to 24 large heads. 

 From this plat 27}^ pounds of wheat 

 was threshed. Mr. Jones wrote of this 

 as follows "The grain was very plump, 

 bright and heavy and would have taken 

 first premium at any agricultural ex- 

 hibit." 



From such small beginnings came the 

 splendid hardy wheats that in a few 

 years covered thousands of acres of our 

 land. 



BEAN BREEDING 



At one time his trial plats contained 

 more than 1500 hybrid wheats and 

 beans. Among the latter were the 

 following named varieties sent out to 

 the trade: Jones' Ivory Pod Wax, 

 1881; Lemon Pod Wax, 1881; Jones' 

 Round Pod Wax, 1898; Golden Crown 

 White Seed Stringless Wax, 1899; 

 Garden Pride Stringless Green Pod, 

 1902; Green Pod Stringless, 1902; 

 Jones' Marrow Pea, 1909. The Jones' 

 Ivory Pod Wax was a parent of many 

 of the later sorts. 



As Mr. Jones never delegated to 

 others any important work connected 

 with his experimental plats it is readily 

 seen how much work he accomplished. 

 Possibly his heritage from sturdy 

 English ancestors enabled him to 

 endure this painstaking labor for thirty- 

 five years. 



BIOGRAPHICAL 



Mr. Jones was born in 1843, at Cook- 

 ham, situated upon the Thames River, 

 England. At the age of five years he 

 came with his family to America, and 

 located in Rochester, N. Y. The three 

 Paper Mills at the Lower Falls were 

 later owned by the Jones Bros, when 

 much of Main Street was a common. 

 None of the processes of the trade of 

 his youth were of use to him in his 

 chosen work, with the exception of 

 finishing, which at that time was done 

 by hand, and required a certain dex- 

 terity in counting, best learned in early 

 youth. 



The secret of his ability to produce 

 such a great number of desirable 

 hybrids is found in his unbounded 

 enthusiasm, unlimited patience, pains- 

 taking care, and absorbing love for his 

 work. 



