BREEDING STAPLE FOOD PLANTS. 259 
have bred it so as to already move the north border of the dent corn 
belt one hundred miles or more further northward. Many varieties have 
been bred so as to suit local conditions. Here, as in the breeding of 
Sugar-Beets, the selection is from among immense numbers. Corn and 
Sugar-Beets seem to have been peculiarly amenable to improvement ; but 
similar careful and extensive breeding of other crops might prove equally 
effective with other open fertilised species—it would indeed be surprising 
were it to turn out otherwise. 
3. Wheat has been very materially improved by Sheriff, Vilmorin, 
Rimpau, and others, by selection much less extensive than that with Indian 
Corn or Sugar-Beets; and Garton Brothers have produced great changes in 
numerous species and varieties of field crops by extensive crossing, 
followed by selection. 
Burbank, in California, has produced new values in many fruits and 
flowers, and his faith in extensive selection seems to be increasing. The 
value of using immense numbers is rarely well understood ; but here lies 
one of the important, if not the most important, fact or principle of 
practice. There are difficulties to be overcome, both of a technical nature 
as relates to the plant, and of a business nature as relates to the remune- 
ration for the extensive labours necessary in the breeding of Wheat, Oats, 
Timothy, Red Clover, Apples, and other staple crops ; but these difficulties 
are no more serious than were those overcome by Vilmorin and others in 
the breeding of Sugar-Beets, and modern genius should be equal to the 
task. The work is often somewhat difficult and very expensive. 
I have myself superintended the expenditure of some thousands of 
dollars by the State of Minnesota in breeding from our staple varieties 
of Wheat new sorts which, it is hoped, will raise the low average yield. At 
the end of ten yearsa few varieties are in hand which promise to increase 
the yield of Wheat probably five to ten per cent. This increase, when 
applied to millions of bushels, makes the cost of breeding the new 
varieties appear relatively very small. And each new variety which yields 
more, at once serves as a foundation for further improvements whence 
still better varieties may result some years hence. 
In the following table are given the yields and other data regarding the 
best eight chosen from among thirty-one varieties originated eight years 
ago. ‘These varieties were originated from Wheats generally grown in the 
States, and are classed as Red Fife and Blue Stem, both summer Wheats. 
In the table are placed also the records of three of the original stocks 
from which the new varieties have been evolved. The eight new ones 
have proyed, on numerous trials, to be superior to the parent varieties ; 
but most of the rest of the thirty-one new ones have been discarded. 
Among a lot of other varieties produced by cross-breeding some 
yielded more and some less than the original parent varieties. 
The second table shows the increase or decrease in yield secured 
from each of thirteen new varieties, as compared in two to ten field tests 
with the respective parent varieties. It will be observed that one wheat, 
Minnesota No. 284, yielded 5:3 bushels less than its parent, while 
Minnesota No. 169 yielded an average of six bushels more than its 
parent. 
In our experiments, so far, an average of ten new varieties are 
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