IMPROVING INDIAN CORN 393 



Roberts isolated the Kanred wheat, which has proved to 

 be so superior to the wheats previously grown in the 

 Plains region. 



Improving Indian Corn. — No crop is more impor- 

 tant in the United States than maize or Indian corn, or 

 has received more attention at the hands of the breeder, 

 both amateur and professional. It is believed that this 

 plant probably originated in Mexico. In any event, there 

 were already many varieties in cultivation among the 

 American Indians when white men first made its acquaint- 

 ance. These varieties have since then been increased 

 and improved until now there are excellent varieties 

 adapted to almost every purpose and to almost every sort 

 of climate or soil within the range of the plant. Corn is 

 naturally wind pollinated, and therefore, usually crossed. 

 Accordingly, most corn plants are hybrids. They can be 

 reduced to a pure condition by artificial self-pollination, 

 but this impairs the vigor of the plant so greatly as to 

 make the method impracticable except for special pur- 

 poses. In practice, the breeder, to begin his work, either 

 selects directly a number of good plants from the variety 

 he wishes to improve, or else he first crosses two 

 presumably suitable varieties and selects desirable 

 plants from their offspring. Whichever way the first 

 selection is made the chosen plants are isolated in a sepa- 

 rate breeding plot, so as to be protected from pollen of 

 other varieties, and allowed to pollinate one another. 

 The best plants are again chosen and the process repeated. 

 Eventually, a relatively uniform race is secured, but it 

 is not, of course, pure. What has actually happened by 

 this method of selection is to make the race relatively pure 

 for certain characters (whatever may be desired), and 

 hybrid for many others in order to maintain the 

 necessary vigor of the plant. 



Breeding Cotton. — The most valuable parts of the 

 cotton plant are long silky hairs attached to the seeds 

 inside the cotton " boll " or seed pod. These hairs vary 



