BREEDING FOR HARDINESS. 293, 



plant has been selected. The progeny of this plant should be care- 

 fully followed to learn whether or not it is transmitting the qualities- 

 desired. Performance records are destined to play just as important 

 a part in plant improvement as they have in the development of our 

 American trotter or our Guernsey cow. 



Scientific plant breeding is more than a matter of observation, 

 it is a matter of observation, study and records — records and then 

 more records. 



The greatest field for improvement in harainess of plants prob- 

 ably lies in what may be termed natural selection. Plants grown 

 under normal conditions and in large numbers offer opportunities 

 for selection which may be the source of much improvement. As 

 an illustration of this fact may be cited the case of our No. 25 flax, 

 which has a well established reputation for a yield of three bushels 

 more than the common strains, and descends from a single plant 

 selected from a large number. Another scrain descending from a 

 single plant selected from a large held has become the mother of 

 a variety of flax with fibre eight to ten inches longer than the 

 original variety. It is this knowledge that gives hope to our efforts 

 to produce a hardy variety of alfalfa, hardy clover plants and a 

 variety of winter wheat hardy enough to become at least as sure 

 a crop as our spring wheat has been. It is believed that some pro- 

 gress has already been made in these directions. In the early 

 nineties, the attempt was originated by the selection of a few sur- 

 viving clover and alfalfa plants that had withstood for some reason 

 the severity of the winter when the acres of plants surrounding 

 them had been winter-killed. These plants were taken up by hand 

 and transplanted to small plots where they could be preserved and 

 seed secured with a view to raising individual plants again and 

 studying individual ability to resist cold winters. These strains 

 are still in our nursery, under nursery stock numbers, and twice or 

 more have been severely reduced by winter-killing and again built 

 up. We believe we have hardier sorts than we started with and 

 will continue our efforts, if permitted, until alfalfa and clover are 

 sure crops on every farm in Minnesota. 



With winter wheat we have tangible evidence that progress has 

 been made. The method employed has been much the same as 

 with the alfalfa and clover. In 1896 I personally transplanted from 

 a two-acre field, that had been sown to winter wheat the year be- 

 fore, twelve or fifteen plants that had survived the winter and were 

 the only ones I could find in the field. Six of these proved to be- 

 rye plants, the balance matured winter wheat seed and went intO' 



