148 PRINCIPLES OF FARM PRACTICE 



other countries; by propagating new plants as they are 

 noticed among other plants of the farm; by crossing plants, 

 thereby combining the good qualities of two or more plants 

 into one; by selection. It will be of interest to notice each 

 of these separately. 



Introduction of foreign plants. Most of our agricultural 

 plants have been brought to the United States from other 

 lands. Our country was settled by people from different 

 parts of the world. When they came here, they brought 

 with them seeds and plants from their old homes. Some of 

 the plants were well adapted to their new environment and 

 flourished even better than in the old. The successful plants 

 became well established, while the production of others not 

 so well suited has been abandoned. In some such way as 

 this, many of our most important farm plants were developed 

 and extended to different parts of the country adapted to 

 their growth. At the same time, largely through unconscious 

 selection, they were improved and became in many instances 

 better than the original parent plants. 



Many farmers, who were able, explored other lands and 

 brought back to this country plants that held promise of 

 being useful here. For example, the Mediterranean wheat 

 was introduced, in 1819, from the islands of the Mediterranean 

 Sea. 



As early as 1839 the United States Department of Agri- 

 culture became interested in making similar explorations. 

 Between 1839 and 1880, sorghum, Kafir corn, varieties of 

 sugar cane, and other plants were introduced. The results 

 of these early explorations seemed so valuable that, in 1898, 

 substantial appropriations began to be made to carry on this 

 work. In 1901, when the Bureau of Plant Industry was 

 formed, Plant Introduction was included as a division of 



