Breeding Funk Fere herons: 147 



family the Funks owning 25,000 acres of exceed- 

 ingly fine land worth over 3,000,000 iare already joined 

 together in a co-operative association organized some- 

 what after the manner of a co-operative creamery, to 

 breed corn and other field crops, their farms being 1 con- 

 ducted individually, the breeding of the corn and the 

 sale of the seed corn only being done through the co- 

 operative association. They are beginning to taste the 

 fruits of dealing in very large numbers of individuals 

 in their operation in corn-breeding and to sense the fu- 

 ture possibilities of federated energies in a large busi- 

 ness enterprise devoted to purveying the projected effi- 

 ciency of the blood of a relatively few germs rigidly se- 

 lected and highly accredited by statistical records of 

 performance. They are, partly unaware, uncovering a 

 gold mine. Nature's slow processes required ages to ac- 

 complish results in the evolution of species. These men 

 are ready to incubate the plans, organize the forces and 

 operate the enterprises scientifically to evolve new val- 

 ues with a new rate of speed heretofore not dreamed of. 

 If these men can approach the possibilities of the op- 

 portunities they already see they will have done won- 

 ders for themselves and for their country, and newer 

 and greater possibilities will continue- to rise before 

 them. There is no set limit in the 'artificial evolution of 

 economic forms of plants and animals. The lines of 

 improvement are well nigh numberless, and the degree 

 of change possible to secure is a sufficient reward for 

 every intelligent effort. 



Let us assume that one of these men is not only 

 interested in handling and educating horses, but is gift- 

 ed in regard to horse breeding, and that the company 

 should so be organized as to make him manager or di- 

 rector of breeding Percheron horses for all the farms 

 which are managed by the separate owners. There 

 would necessarily be the. preliminary period of his go- 

 ing to the fairs to be associated with show judge's, at- 

 tending sales in large cities to learn the wants and the 

 philosophies of the markets, of visiting breeders at 



