440 EXPERIMENTS WITH PLANTS 



The original home of the Corn was in Central America, 

 and it has moved all the way to Lake Superior, with 

 the consequent gain in hardiness and ability to ripen 

 quickly, as the result of selection by man. 



5. Adaptation to peculiar regions or conditions. — 

 There are thousands on thousands of acres of land 

 where Corn cannot now be grown, simply because the 

 soil contains too much alkali. Yet the same soil will 

 grow Sugar Beets excellently. Why should it not 

 be possible to breed a race of Corn tolerant of alkali? 

 A race of Corn resistant to drought would also prove 

 of great value. 



6. Resistance to disease, etc. — An immense amount 

 of damage is annually done by Corn - smut (see 

 page 400) . Yet in the most badly infested fields some 

 sound ears will be found. By careful selection of 

 these a resistant variety might be obtained. 



Any one who should attempt the improvement of 

 Corn on the old hit-and-miss principle might possibly 

 stumble on good results, but the chances would be 

 largely against him. To be sure of success, he must, 

 after taking into account such considerations as those 

 mentioned above, decide which particular line of im- 

 provement is most feasible and most profitable, and, 

 after formulating a definite ideal, work persistently 

 toward it. The greater his skill and the more accurate 

 his judgment the sooner will he accomplish his 

 aim; in this work it is impossible to set any limits 



