Part II.] VALUE OF CORN. 95 



of potatoes, discarding all which failed to give 7 to 9 of mer- 

 chantable size, and a minimum number of small ones, my first 

 test in unit breeding, using seed from the hill-selected stock 

 of the same variety and weight, gave a variation in j'ield from 

 6^ to 16f pounds per potato. 



Later years have reduced this variation, thereby proving the 

 possibility as well as the profit of this simple line of work. 

 There must be some system of seed growing and selection by 

 which we can approach uniformity in production and repro- 

 ductive powers, and for this we must diligently seek. In the 

 animal kingdom it rests with the individual, not the herd or 

 flock; in the vegetable, fruit or grain fields the same law 

 holds, and it is up to us to work out the system ourselves. 

 It cannot be done for us by another. What per cent of seed 

 ears do you get per acre? Careful records prove a range of 

 5 to 60 and he who approaches the higher must realize in- 

 crease in yield of 50 to 100 per cent, the whole problem re- 

 volving about the kernels. 



We are tenants of the soil, not absolute owners; to be 

 judged by what we produce, how we produce it and in what 

 condition we leave the land for others. No man can be a 

 farm slacker to-day and merit recognition. To waste energies 

 or material is criminal; to conserve is manly. 



Find your sj'stem where you will, but let it be the best 

 you can grasp, and then follow it religiously, and years will 

 bring added increase in quantity and quality of crop produced. 

 Real helpfulness from an institution or individual comes not 

 through following blindly the path others have traveled, but 

 in the awakened resolve to make a straight path for yourself. 

 The only enduring help is self help. If I am able to set in 

 motion forces, and bring to men the consciousness that the 

 finest and best help comes from within, the full purpose of 

 this hour will be realized. 



Theodore Roosevelt never gave utterance to a truer state- 

 ment than, after coming out of the jungle, in an address be- 

 fore a Chinese college, he said, "Beware of that man who 

 fails to translate his words into deeds." 



Measured by that standard, where do you and I stand 

 to-dav? Are we adding to the sum total of knowledge? Are 



