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PRACTICAL PLANT-BREEDING. 421 
PRACTICAL PLANT-BREEDING, MORE ESPECIALLY IN 
RELATION TO THE GLADIOLUS. 
By H. H. Grorr, of Ontario, Canada. 
THROUGH the influence of my late father, I have always been interested 
in the advanced products of horticulture in all its departments, and for 
many years my interest has also extended to several types of pure-bred 
animals and birds, during which time I gained valuable experience in 
breeding poultry, pigeons, rabbits, dogs, cattle and horses. The know- 
ledge gained during my experiments with animal life has been of in- 
calculable value in enabling me to determine the best system and practice 
likely to assure the most satisfactory results, during my past fifteen years 
of practical experience in plant-breeding. 
There are two classes of plant-breeders, both of which are doing good 
work of more or less value from the scientific and economic view-point, in 
the interest of advanced knowledge and our advancing civilisation. 
The first of these is the breeder who works for the purpose of proving 
his theories, and who, by a limited number of recorded crosses, is able to 
place the simple analysis of his investigations in presentable form for 
educative purposes. 
The second, or the breeder for practical results, cannot do this without 
placing limitations upon his activity, which means his experience and 
success, as it is only the man who makes many crosses who can hope to 
approach eyen the border of a field of limitless possibilities in results. 
Such a worker will secure innumerable examples and illustrations of 
the points valued by the theoretical breeder, but such, being relatively 
barren of practical results, will soon be forgotten ; and it matters little that 
this is so, for the only value that such records would have is that, on a repeti- 
tion of the cross, a duplicate result could be secured, and a type thereby 
multiplied. This, however, is practically impossible in cross-breeding. 
As has been stated by me before the American Breeders’ Association, 
the only admissible system to be practised for the purpose of producing 
the highest average in types of economic value, is. that of breeding from 
domestic specific types as sires on selected females, according to the 
practice of animal-breeders. The use of wild species with the hope of 
attaining a similar ratio of such results is relatively absurd, as the only 
value that any wild species can have to a breeder for practical results is 
as foundation or laboratory stock, to be discarded yearly with their early 
hybrids as he advances step by step towards his ideal. 
Now here it may be well to state that, if the breeder uses his full oppor- 
tunity, this ideal will be a progressive quality, and his standard will 
advance yearly as he sees the results attained by unlocking the treasuries 
of ages of the past in scientific, though unrecorded, practical plant-breed- 
ing; and, by the same means, he hastens evolution and draws the 
natural harvest of the eons of the future to meet the scientific harvest 
