BREEDING FOR INTRINSIC QUALITY. 



61 



breed a large number of open-pollenated varieties in one nursery, nor on one 

 farm, unless it be a very large one. In corn, for example, the importance of 

 great care in securing a superior foundation stock is even more important 

 than in wheat, because the number which may be kept under trial is limited 

 to so few. After having chosen the variety, the very choicest plants should 

 be chosen from among very large numbers, as from large fields. These should 

 be most carefully tested as to yield of grain and general character of plant, 

 time required to mature, etc. In some cases the composition of the kernels 

 may be determined. One hundred or more superior plants are chosen, and 

 a centgener row planted from each. Twenty or more of the best yielding 

 rows with good plants are chosen, and from among the plants in each of 

 these rows ten or more of the best plants are chosen and tested. The best 

 of these are used for planting thirty to a hundred centgener rows the third 

 season. Care is taken to not reduce the number of original blood lines to 

 below, say, five, or even ten. Soon the selecting should begin to respect cer- 

 tain types, that the variety may be reduced to a more popular appearance. 

 But retaining the high yielding types is of first importance, and a check 

 should constantly be kept on the work. Tiiere is some danger of making the 

 variety uniform, or "thoroughbred," in appearance and mongrel in yield. 

 Breeders of Shorthorn cattle sometimes find that they have "thoroughbred 

 red" families which are "scrub milkers" and not very thoroughbred — uni- 

 form — in beefing qualities. Once the value per acre of the variety of corn 

 has been materially increased, the very choicest ears only being needed for 

 the nursery breeding, seeds from the best remaining ears may be used in 

 field planting, and seed grown from this selected stock for the market. The 

 nursery must be large to give wide opportunity for securing superior indi- 

 vidual plants and for testing the breeding power of many mother plants. 

 Every year, or every few years, a commercial stock of seed may be drawn 

 from the nursery, taken to the field and there multiplied. It may pay to 

 grow corn in the nursery only every alternate year, growing in alternate 

 years in large fields, for which purpose the seeds of the various blood lines 

 are indiscriminately mixed. No one can settle this and many other similar 

 questions until experiments are made. 



Just now there is an excitement about IMendel's Law. We hope that law 

 will help to clear up many questions, both scientific and practical. But there 

 are thousands of theoretical questions with practical bearing. Some of these 

 may be as important, or even far more important, than Mendel's Law. Let 

 me urge that we extend, broaden out and intensify our endeavors in investi- 

 gation along these lines. Let us urge the large equipment of laboratories and 

 experimental grounds for plant breeding at public expense. Let us find and 

 introduce those laws of business which will enable the private individual to 

 secure larger rewards for supplying the world with new creations. The 

 scientific workers in plant and animal improvement should realize that the 

 people will appreciate large economic results, and will gladly urge the ex- 

 penditure of what appears now very large sums of money, if we show as 

 large a dividend as we might. Creating values and scientific work go hand 

 in hand. The production of new wealth will supply the wherewithal to sup- 

 port scientific research in natural and scientific evolution. Scientific research, 



