Improving Plants and Seeds 



143 



When a specimen is found having merit, it should be 

 given special care and properly propagated (U 208). 

 When a new form is secured and has its characters so 

 fixed until the}' -come true/' it is called a variety. 



213. Examples of the Value of New Varieties. The 

 improvement of our cultivated plants has been gradual 

 because but few men have made it a business to look 

 for and select out the best forms. Many men, however, 

 have secured decided results in a few years by following 

 scientific methods. The work of Professor Munson has 

 already been mentioned. Hays was able to secure a 

 strain of Minnesota blue-stem wheat that produced 

 five bushels more per acre. When wheat is worth 80 

 cents, such seed represents a superior earning value of 

 $4 per acre. Many other examples of the great .value 



Taylor 



Iron 



Black 



Fig. 86. Iron cowpea vs. Black and Taylor, showing comparative resistance to 

 the Wilt and Root Knot. From Bulletin United States Department of 

 Agriculture. 



