24 



ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE 



FIG. 10. Twenty thousand timothy plants. 

 Each grown from a single seed 



farmer have been most rapidly improved. Each ear of 

 corn is seen when husking, the differences have attracted 



attention. The result- 

 ing selection has given 

 the . most striking ex- 

 ample of improvement 

 on a large scale. Pota- 

 toes have been more 

 rapidly improved than 

 K wheat. There are hun- 

 <>$?" PH dreds of named varie- 

 ties of apples, but no 

 varieties of timothy. 

 Yet the differences between timothy plants are probably as 

 great as the differences between varieties of apples. At 

 Cornell University, there are about twenty thousand indi- 

 vidual timothy plants growing in rows. There are many 

 distinct types that will make very desirable varieties 

 (Fig. 10). 



25. Sugar-beet. The 

 most striking example of 

 rapid improvement due to 

 the application of scien- 

 tific principles is the sugar- 

 beet. 



In a hundred years, the 

 percentage of sugar has 

 been increased from about 

 8 per cent to an average of 



14 tO 18 per Cent. The FIG. ll. Two timothy plants growing 



, TT j s\de by side, showing difference in yield. 



average in the United Each one grew from a single seed. 



