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secure the very best seed obtainable and by looking ahead one year maxi- 

 mum production seed for the crop to follow is obtained. Change seed 

 frequently. This year the seed patch may be used for corn, next year 

 for oats and so on every year procuring a small amount of some kind of 

 seed; thus keeping the seed patch constantly busy. 



Seed should, by all means, be tested for germination before planting, 

 not only must ''test your seed corn" be a motto but test all seeds; this 

 is the only way that we can definitely decided the rate of seeding. 



Another great field for increased grain production and one which has 

 been touched but little is that of plant breeding; from results so far 

 obtained we can see a wonderful future to be accomplished by this work. 

 Only a beginning has been made, the varieties now grown can be com- 

 pared with scrub livestock and when one stops to consider the wonderful 

 stride made in livestock breeding we can realize the future ahead for the 

 plant breeder. With this in view, twenty years from now we will expect 

 to see double the production per acre as now obtained. 



The work of breeding for a convenience of classification has been 

 divided into four divisions; namely, selection which is not in its truest 

 sense breeding but is purely the selection year after year of heads or 

 ears whether grain or corn with the idea to increase the productiveness 

 of the particular strain grown. No blood lines whatsoever are interfered 

 with and but very little progress can be made. 



Second division is known as regeneration or breeding within a variety 

 and consists of the selection of two strains of the same variety which 

 have been grown under different soil and climatic conditions and com- 

 bining the blood of these. The idea involved is that of regenerating the 

 particular variety bred. 



Third is known as simple crossing and is the crossing of two distinct 

 varieties. Considerable improvement can be made with the practice of 

 simple crossing. The results have been limited in favor of the fourth 

 division or composite crossing, which is the infusing of the blood of three 

 or more varieties into a single berry by a series of simple crosses. In 

 the second or third generation from the berries so procured a maximum 

 number of types are secured to select from by the breaking down of the 

 blood lines of this multiple of varieties. 



For example, we will start with eight varieties of oats the first year, 

 we have four simple crosses and in the next stage two simples crosses and 

 finally but one cross and the blood of all the original eight varieties are 

 combined into the result of this last cross. By planting this any number 

 of new and distinct types are ready for selection purposes. Breeding, 

 once understood, is comparatively easy of accomplishment but takes 

 considerable time and patience to produce results. However, bearing in 

 mind again the enormous strides that have ])een made with animal breed- 

 ing, to say that plant breeding is worth while is to say but little. It will 

 be but a short while until the plant breeder, given time, can fill almost 

 any order. 



