BREEDING FOR HARDINESS. 295 



greatest improvement in hardiness will result from continued selec- 

 tion or by a cross followed by' long- continued selection of plants 

 grown under severe exposure and climatic conditions. 



In my opinion, the ambitious plant breeder spends too much 

 time, and money in searching other states and countries in the hope 

 of finding something created by some one else that may suit his re- 

 quirements. The same time and money expended in an honest effort 

 to do something himself with the material at hand would result in 

 more rapid progress.. New things may be needed and doubtless 

 are useful in man}- ways, but in gazing at the stars above the 

 horizon we often neglect the daisies at our feet. We in Minnesota 

 who are searching for hardy trees and plants should not overlook 

 the fact that nowhere in all out-doors do the same climatic con- 

 ditions exist, nowhere else is the same character of soil found nor 

 the same rigorous winters. Even in plants coming from regions of 

 greater cold, time is required for adaptation to our own exacting 

 conditions, ^^'e have found that even within our own state, time 

 must be given for a variety of corn or of wheat to become adapted 

 to its surroundings, and that it improves when continued in a 

 locality for a time if given intelligent care and selection. Of the 

 thousand or more varieties of wheat brought to University Farm 

 from various sources, only a few have done well from the' start, 

 and nearly all that are suited to our conditions have made im- 

 provement under continued care and growth. All that have become 

 prominent in any Avay have been originated in near-by states or 

 within the state. 



This suggests the thought that it is important that every man, 

 woman and child be made acquainted with the principles of plant 

 breeding. That they should be awakened to .tlie possibilities that 

 lie about them in everv direction, and that they no longer depend 

 on the United States Government to find things for them nor on 

 their State Experiment Station to create new varieties for them, 

 but that they get to work with a will and produce themselves that 

 which is best suited to their farms and gardens, and that which 

 no one else can produce so well. The work is pleasant and fascinat- 

 ing to any one acquainted with it, and even if varieties of economic 

 value are not built up by every individual the knowedge gained 

 from the study is sufficient reward. 



The President : We should always be prepared to be astonished, 

 and yet I am bound to say that I have had several surprises sprung 

 upon me in the last few years. We have discovered a great 

 acquisition along horticultural lines in Mr. Harrison of York, Ne- 

 braska. Then there is Prof. Thomas Shaw, I never knew he thought 



