264 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
start by accidentally discovering a new plant. They know only how the 
chance seedling was further selected and made more useful. Those who 
have produced crosses often have no carefully-made notes which, if kept, 
would be a guide in future experiments. .In the Northern part of the 
United States, for example, numerous new seedling Apples have been 
originated. It may be that some one cross has resulted in the production 
of most of these. Were it found true that a cross between the Duchess 
and Roman Stem Apples had produced a number of good and hardy 
varieties, and that from a like number of crosses between other varieties 
nearly all had failed in hardiness or in other particulars, we could inter- 
pret the results as indicating that energies would best be spent in crossing 
the two varieties mentioned, and in testing their resulting seedlings. 
There is a large amount of this breeding going on. The notes could be 
simply and easily kept ; and with careful records the work is more pleasure- 
able, and the best plants are more certain to be selected from among 
the many crossbreds which must be produced to get a few superior ones. 
The idea that there are secrets in variety production is not worthy of 
the age in which we live, and it does not prevail in the minds of the 
leading men interested in the breeding of either plants or animals. Men 
have sometimes mistaken their artistic skill for secret knowledge— 
‘‘ science for which no language has yet been developed.” Under investi- 
gation this knowledge or art often proves to be founded upon the chance 
discovery or selection of a very superior plant or animal, which the 
grower has been wise enough to multiply. ‘“ The secret knowledge is 
being aware that the pretending wise breeder is claiming to know some- 
thing when he does not.”’ 
Important subjects eventually reach the school-room. The pedagogies 
of plant and animal breeding is becoming a lusty infant. Through our 
schools of agriculture much can be taught. Since breeding is mainly 
an art, the practical work will always predominate over the scientific in 
the properly developed course of study. Since experiments and practice 
in animal breeding are not usually practicable in a school, both because 
of the long series of years needed, .and especially on account of the 
expense of even such small and rapidly reproducing animals as fowls, 
most of the practice work, and most of the demonstration experiments, 
must be confined to plant breeding. While the teacher needs experience, 
he also needs access to the literature. This can only be reached with 
great effort, since the valuable writings are much scattered. The col- 
lections of agricultural books in the schools of agriculture, in the offices 
of agricultural newspapers, or in general libraries, are, as a rule, in poor 
condition. The articles on each subject, besides being in fragments in 
various publications, are not properly catalogued. People have as yet 
hardly awakened to the fact that agricultural education and experimenta- 
tion are very expensive, yet, even at a high cost, are very profitable. And 
the more nearly the provision of money is adequate, the better are the pro- 
portionate results, whether the money is spent in educating boys to be 
farmers or technical agricultural scientists, or in the conducting of original 
research. The breeding of plants can properly be made a minor subject 
in many secondary, higher, and post-graduate schools. 
The more numerous classes of plant breeders are the gardeners and 
