BREEDING NEW GRAINS 



of nature, compel these two to become the 

 head of a new race, — does it not suggest some- 

 thing of the mystery of the miracle-makers? 

 For years the wheat crop in the great cereal- 

 producing regions of America has steadily de- 

 clined in yield, and, where it has not declined, 

 it has steadily fluctuated. Gradually, as civili- 

 zation has pressed westward, wheat-raising as a 

 chief factor in farm life has been abandoned, 

 until today the vast areas of western Canada 

 are looked to as the last source of wheat supply 

 upon the continent. Even here the virgin soil 

 soon begins to fall away from its huge initial 

 yields. While lack of intelligent farming has 

 had something to do with this, and while the 

 depletion of a once rich soil has been respon- 

 sible for its share of the loss, yet to these alone 

 cannot be given all the blame. 



The wheat is a self-fertilizing plant, preserv- 

 ing its identity through the centuries, never 

 changing to a new form, never reverting to an 

 old type, but reproducing itself from age to age. 

 But it may change in character, the wheat of 

 one season from the same kind of seed may be 

 inferior to that of another season, there may 

 be a gradual loss of food - strength and general 



51 



