184 Breeding Plants and Animals. 



praise, by selling them at the nominal price of 10 cents 

 apiece. He also aroused the bitter antagonism of the 

 commercial growers of nursery stock. Instead of con- 

 servatively waiting, thoroughly proving which varie- 

 ties were best by long- continued and thorough trial, he 

 too early offered his new importations to the general 

 farmer, as well as to nurserymen who were experi- 

 enced in testing new varieties. In the end the most 

 excellent pioneer work done for Iowa horticulture was 

 partly neutralized by this wrong method of distribut- 

 ing varieties new to the State. And Prof. Budd today 

 is not accorded nearly the credit due him from his 

 State because he was over-zealous in distributing al- 

 most free the varieties he prejudged were of great val- 

 ue to the people. 



When an experimenter settles down to the fact that 

 there is only one really first-class variety out of very 

 many which is worthy of distribution and that the one 

 is of exceeding great value he is ready to calmly wait 

 the full fruitage of evidence which will give him the 

 right variety and the statistical evidence with which 

 to win his case before the open court of commercial 

 use. When one has promising new varieties of \vheat, 

 flax, barley, oats, millet, alfalfa, or, perchance, new 

 varieties of horticultural species which promise soon to 

 be ready to make conquests for commercial supremacy, 

 it requires the German power to calmly wait to avoid 

 prematurely discharging the powder. "A few things 

 thoroughly well done," only varieties sent out which 

 do supersede the common kinds in use, form the only 

 road to that confidence which a State station or United 

 States Department breeder needs, to enable him to give 

 his tested varieties a good hearing. The breeder under 

 State or Government employ who builds up a reputa- 

 tion on only varieties worthy of wide commercial use 

 is able to command prices which will place his new 

 creations at once in the strongest current of commer- 

 cial seed growing and merchandising. The station or 

 Government cares little for the initial price received; 



