MARVELOUS POSSIBILITIES 277 



with a fabric as cheap as cotton, but as fine and 

 durable as linen? 



Who will be the one to produce a plant which 

 shall yield us cheaper rubber — a plant growing, 

 perhaps, on the deserts, which shall make the cost 

 of motor-car tires seem only an insignificant item 

 in upkeep? 



And who, on those same deserts, and growing, 

 perhaps, side by side, shall perfect a plant which 

 can be transformed into cheap alcohol for the 

 motors themselves? 



We see that the opportunities for plant im- 

 provement broadly divide themselves into four 

 classes. 



First, improving the quality of the product of 

 existing plants. 



Second, saving plants from their own extrav- 

 agance, thereby increasing their yield. 



Third, fitting plants more closely to specific 

 conditions of soil, climate, and locality. 



And fourth, transforming wild plants and 

 developing entirely new ones to take care of new 

 wants which are growing with surprising rapidity. 



The cost and the quality of everything that we 

 eat and wear depends on this work of plant im- 

 provement. 



The beefsteak for which we are paying an 

 ever-increasing price represents, after all, so 



