114 THE FARMER OF TO-MORROW 



the Deglet Noor, was introduced from Africa 

 and planted to orchards in the arid deserts of 

 Arizona. The plant, which had developed a 

 remarkable drought-resisting quality in its 

 native soil, seemed destined to failure as an 

 American product. In its new home it pro- 

 duced handsome fruit, yet wholly lacking in 

 the wonderful flavor to be found in the same 

 variety in Northern Africa. Specialists of 

 the Department of Agriculture set about to 

 solve the difficulty and discovered that the 

 flavor of the Deglet Noor was due to a fer- 

 mentation which occurred at maturity. This 

 fermentation required a sustained heat of 104 

 degrees for several days. Its native climate 

 favored this development. No so, however, 

 its new home. The difficulty was solved in 

 an unique way. The ripe fruit from Arizona 

 trees was picked and literally "hatched" in 

 ordinary chicken incubators. This simple 

 fact, once discovered, has resulted in thousands 

 of acres of otherwise useless land becoming of 

 economic importance. 



Several years ago the long-lost manuscripts 

 of the Austrian monk, Johann Mendel, were 

 found. The monk gave his life to the culture 

 of sweet peas and set down his observations 



