Breeding W heat, Corn and Other Crops. 17 



this has been done in several instances at the Minnesota 

 Experiment Station with the spring bread wheat. 



By extensive hybridization followed by selection, no 

 doubt varieties can be made which will far better fit 

 into the conditions of each and every wheat growing 

 section, and even extend the wheat area into sections 

 where wheat does not now succeed. It were better if 

 many sections now growing wheat on the same land 

 continuously would grow a less acreage, and if other 

 sections now growing but little would grow more of 

 the world's leading wheat crop in rotation with other 

 crops. Wheat has proved to be one of the easiest 

 plants to work with in making improvements and re- 

 sults are far-reaching. 



In Minnesota a new variety of Fife wheat, Minn. 

 No. 163, and a new variety of Blue Stem wheat, Minn. 

 No. 169, have been placed among the farmers to dis- 

 place the parents of these two varieties. Ample proof 

 is in hand that each of these wheats will yield an aver- 

 age of \y 2 bushels more per acre than its parent. Es- 

 timates place the acreage planted to these two wheats in 

 Minnesota in 1902 at about 60,000 acres. All the cost 

 of plant breeding at the Minnesota Station, including 

 all variety testing of all species, arid all the studies in 

 animal breeding in the past dozen years will have been 

 paid for by this increase, estimated as worth $i per 

 acre. If these varieties of wheat could be increased 

 only four fold annually for four more years there would 

 be sufficient wheat to sow the entire crop of Minnesota 

 and much to spare for other states. One dollar added 

 to the value of each acre of wheat in Minnesota makes 

 a total of over $5,000,000 annually. Even if those 

 wheats are so increased as to plant one-fifth of the field 

 of the state, which is to be hoped, as business methods 

 are being used to distribute them, the increased value 

 of the crop will be a million dollars annually.* 



* Note This has already practically resulted, Au- 

 gust, 1905. 



