82 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



a question of continued efifort when his vision of earlier years 

 will become a great reality. He already has a dozen or fifteen 

 varieties of native plums that have been developed by plant 

 breeding methods which are probably better for his region than 

 most other varieties now elsewhere obtainable. Among his 

 seedlings there are a great number of very promising apples 

 which, in hardiness of tree, mark very distinct advances. In 

 the very nature of the case, much of his apple work is still in a 

 transition period and much still remains to be done. But there 

 is every reason to believe that the ultimate end of this work 

 will give to the upper IMississippi \^alley a collection of apple 

 varieties which will 'be fully adapted to the peculiar conditions 

 of that region. They may be expected also to be of value in 

 other regions where hardiness of tree is a factor. 



If Mr. Patten can develop varieties of apples and plums 

 which make fruit growing successful in a region of the country 

 where severe climatic conditions have largely restricted it, it 

 does not require any stretch of the imagination to conclude that 

 great imi^rovement is within the range of possibilities in any 

 region, but it will, of course, require the same sort of devotion 

 to an ideal to develop such varieties as Mr. Patten has displayed 

 in his work in Iowa. One of the greatest difificulties in the way 

 of improving varieties generally is the tendency to let well enough 

 alone, together with the fact that the stress of circumstances is 

 not sufficiently severe to compel action, as was the case in Mr. 

 Patten's region. Moreover, the improving of fruit varieties by 

 breeding is a very long-term proposistion. Perhaps this has been 

 the most important reason of all why more attention has not 

 been given to work of this kind. But one of the roads to a 

 higher type of success in fruit growing leads in the direction 

 of breeding varieties which are really fitted to particular con- 

 ditions and for definite uses — not being satisfied merely with 

 varieties that after a fashion can be made to do. 



Now, in order to bring together in succinct form the points 

 which I have tried to lay before you, I present in conclusion the 

 following summary : 



1. The fact of wide variability within the variety due to 

 the influence of environment is fully established. 



2. liecause of the influence of conditions upon the behavior 



