NEW VARIETIES. 253 



frost-resisting lime ; March rape, yielding about thirty tons to 

 the acre without fertilizer and without irrigation ; Egyptian 

 clovers, soy beans, sand lucerne, incredibly increasing the 

 green forage and hay yield of every section of the country; 

 the Japanese radish, the "best and sweetest radish ever 

 grown" ; a new cabbage, better than anything previously 

 known ; the new spelt, outyielding any variety previously 

 grown ; a buckwheat returning ten bushels per acre more than 

 the best native sort. 



"Not one man in a thousand," says Darwin, "has accuracy 

 of eye and judgment sufficient to become an eminent breeder. 

 If gifted with these qualities and he studies his subject for 

 years and devotes his lifetime to it with indomitable perse- 

 verance, he will succeed and may make great improvements ; 



if he want any of these qualities he will assuredly fail. Few 



r 



would readily believe in the natural capacity and years of 







practice requisite to become even a skilful pigeon fancier." 

 While this is strictly true, there is not a farmer within the 



t_i5 



boundaries of the Union but that may be benefited by the 



work of these eminent men. Varieties may be obtained which 



I**"/ 

 are especially adapted to his locality, and, if cultivated aright, 



will not fail to return him a generous compensation. More- 

 over, while everyone may not develop genius for plant breed- 

 ing, there is not a farmer, a farmer's wife nor a farmer's child 

 but that may do practical work in hybridization, cross-fertiliza- 

 tion and selection which will be of distinct value. It is often 

 affirmed that the farmer's life is dull. Of all women who 

 become insane the largest percentage, it is said, is from among 

 those who live on farms, and the reason for this is laid to the 

 lack of interest which the nature of farm life affords. But 

 surely, this need not be so. To modify living things ; to bring 



