The Forward Movement in Plant-Breeding 299 



stages in which we seem temporarily to have lost our better 

 judgment, of which the Morus multicaulis craze and the 

 lightning-rod boom are examples in two past generations. 



Having now warned our readers that we have nothing 

 marvelous in store, we shall proceed to indicate some of 

 the ways in which American plant-breeders are working, 

 fully conscious that the space at our disposal is much 

 too little to allow of any adequate presentation of the 

 subject. It may not be out of place to call the reader's 

 attention to the three foundations on which rests the in- 

 creased productiveness of crops and animals : 



The enrichment of the land; 



The tillage and care ; 



The producing of better varieties and strains. 



We have long given careful attention to the first two ; 

 now we are studying the third with new enthusiasm an,d 

 purpose. 



The results of plant-breeding effort. Happily, we are 

 not without abundant accomplishment in this new field. 

 The last ten years has seen a remarkable specialization 

 in the producing of plants that are adapted to particular 

 needs. The days of merely crossing and sowing the 

 seeds to see what will turn up are already past with 

 those who are engaged seriously in the work. The old 

 method was hit-and-miss, and the result was to take 

 what good luck put in our way : the new method proceeds 

 definitely and directly, and the result is the necessary 

 outcome of the line of effort. The crux of the new ideal is 

 efficiency in one particular attribute in the product of 

 the breeding. These attributes are measurable; the 

 kinds of results are foreseen in the plan. 



