SYMPOSIUM OX COXSERVATIOX 73 



the standpoint of permanent welfare. Within the memory of man 

 the tomato has been introduced into cultivation and advanced 

 in size from a fruit of three-quarters of an inch in diameter to 

 our fine modern fruits, some of which grow as large as four 

 inches in diameter. 



A striking illustration of this nature is furnished by the experi- 

 ments which the writer has conducted in the improvement of 

 timothy. Timothy was introduced into cultivation about 1720, 

 nearly two centuries ago. For many years it has been extensively 

 grown, but no attempts have been made to develop improved 

 races until recently. In experiments conducted by the Cornell 

 Experiment Station, timothy seed was obtained from a large 

 number of places in this and foreign countries, from which about 

 18,000 individual plants were grown, and the different types 

 studied and isolated. As a result of nine years of work, some 

 200 different races have been secured, which show a very wide 

 range of characters, and vary from dwarfs to giants in size. A 

 test of the yields of seventeen of these new varieties, in com- 

 parison with the best timothy seed which could be purchased in 

 the market, was made in 1910 and also in 191 1. In 1910 the 

 average yield of the seventeen new sorts was 7,451 pounds per 

 acre, and that of the seven check plats of ordinary timothy was 

 6,600 pounds per acre, an average increase of 851 pounds per 

 acre in favor of the new varieties. In 191 1 the average yield of 

 the seventeen new sorts was 7,153 pounds per acre, and that of 

 the seven check plats was 4,091 pounds per acre, an average 

 increase of 3,062 pounds per acre in favor of the new varieties. 

 Four of the high yielding sorts in 191 1 gave an increased yield 

 of over two tons per acre, or practically double the average yield 

 of the checks, which is an astonishing figure, and can be explained 

 onh^ by the fact that timothy has never been improved by breed- 

 ing and still consists, as generally cultivated, of a motley array 

 of many different types. 



Hay is one of the largest agricultural crops of the United 

 States, outranking all other crops, except com, in total value 

 of production. In 1910, according to the statement issued by 

 the United States" Department of Agriculture, there were grown 

 in the United States 45,691,000 acres of hay, which yielded a 

 crop having a farm valuation of $747,769,000. No statistics are 

 available from which we can determine what proportion of this 

 hay was timothy, but the writer believes that we may safely con- 

 clude that at least one-third of the entire hay crop of the country 



