EVERY FARMER A PLANT BREEDER 85 



devotion that the orchard, the garden and the 

 flower crops have had. The same principles that 

 apply to animal breeding apply to plant breeding. 



THE KEYNOTE OF PLANT BREEDING 



Patience and skill are required in the breeding 

 of plants. You must know what characters ought 

 to be developed and what ones ought to be sup- 



IM PROVING COTTON 



The cotton fiber has been lengthened by continuous care in 

 selection. Since the length of the fiber adds to its value, 

 selection in this direction is vitally important and should not 

 be neglected by any cotton grower. 



pressed. The common plan of guessing is never 

 conducive to improvement. The average yield of 

 corn or wheat will be raised very little indeed if 

 the crib or granary is depended upon for seed. To 

 get the offspring of the choicest plants the parents 

 must be observed as they grow in the fields. Sup- 

 pose you go into a corn field about the time the 

 field is ripening. You will note many superior 

 individual plants; not only may the plant itself 

 be superior, but the ear often will show great 

 superiority over the common lot of the field. Your 



