ON THE POSSIBILITIES 



Not all plants, of course, are worth working 

 with not all have within them heredities which 

 could profitably be brought forth. But as a safe 

 comparison, it might be stated that the propor- 

 tion between present useful plants and those in 

 the wild which can be made useful, is at least 

 as great or greater than the proportion between 

 the coal which has already been mined, and the 

 coal which is stored up for us in the ground. 

 Greater, by probably a hundred times, for while 

 we have depleted our coal supply, our plants have 

 been multiplying, not only in number, but in kind 

 and in form. 



Moreover, from our wild plants, we may not 

 only get new products, but new strength, new 

 hardiness, new combative powers, and endless 

 other desirable new qualities for our tame plants. 



All of these things are just as immediate as 

 possibilities, as transcontinental railroads were 

 fifty years ago. All of these things can be made to 

 come about with such apparent ease that future 

 generations will take them as a matter of course. 



Yet we have not touched, so far, on the most 

 interesting field in plant improvement the 

 production, through crossing, hybridizing and 

 selection, of entirely new plants to meet entirely 

 new demands. 



Who shall produce some plant and there are 



[269] 



