NEW VARIETIES. 243 



Until a comparatively few years ago no apple was known 

 of sufficient hardihood to endure the severe climate of the 

 Northwest. It was believed that no fruits could be grown 

 in that region. About 1855 Mr. Peter M. Gideon of Minne- 

 sota began the undertaking of fruit culture. He planted fruit 

 trees of various kinds, among them about thirty named vari- 

 eties of apples, besides a bushel of seed apples. Each suc- 

 ceeding year he repeated his planting of trees, besides seeds 

 sufficient to produce a thousand sprouts. When the winters 

 killed off all his stock he would send East for more. His 

 neighbors became discouraged, quit, and advised Mr. Gideon 

 to do the same, but he persisted. After a continuous effort of 

 ten years there was left only one small seedling crab. From 

 this one wretched survival a variety known as the "Wealthy" 

 was finally developed by a process of selection. This is the 

 stock which is now being crossed with certain hardy varieties 

 .from Russia with results which our own Government reports 

 declare will probably prove of "the greatest practical value." 



Members of the Seed Corn Breeders' Association and oth- 

 ers engaged in the same pursuit are applying the latest knowl- 

 edge with a vigor and skill never before shown, and on a scale 

 never before dreamed of. Many are developing varieties es- 

 pecially adapted to certain localities, and many others are 

 breeding with a view of modifying the content. Some are 

 striving for an increase of the protein, others for that of oil. 

 To such an extent is it now known that these constituents may 

 be increased in certain varieties that a new set of experiments 

 has recently been undertaken to determine how far one or 

 another of these elements may be increased in a corn without 

 injury to the constitution, growth or yield of the plant. 



While Professor Hanson of the South Dakota Experiment 



