76 AGRICULTURE 



moisture, and climate, but their most flourishing and most profitable 

 growth is under favorable conditions. 



This work of plant improvement is one in which every man 

 and child on a farm should take part. By selecting buds and 

 seeds from the best specimens, a farmer should try to increase the 

 yield and improve the good qualities" of every crop which he raises. 

 Every child can make interesting experiments which may result 

 in the development of new and valuable plants. 



EXPERIMENTS 



1. Save seeds from balsams, or touch-me-nots, selecting and keeping 

 separate the seeds of plants bearing the most and the least double blos- 

 soms. If this process of selection be continued two or three years, 

 what is the result ? 



2. Compare the wild onion with its relative, the garden onion. What 

 changes have been made by cultivation ? 



3. Experiment with the cross breeding of corn. Use two good plants. 

 Keep the ears of one covered with paper bags until you are ready to 

 pollinate them. Then dust them with the tassel from another good 

 plant, and re-cover with the paper bags for a few days. 



4. Decide on some change that you think will improve a certain 

 plant, and try to make it by seed selection and cross breeding. Re- 

 member that these changes must be in line with the natural develop- 

 ment of the plant. 



