304 Plant- Breeding 



and offer these for sale with the approval and backing of 

 the association. 



The Ohio and New York associations laid out elabo- 

 rate plans of breeding for their members to follow, but it 

 was found that farmers were not ready for such work and 

 as a result the Ohio association has never been very large 

 and the New York association has abandoned this plan 

 and is turning its attention to bringing the farmers and 

 seedsmen into closer relations, encouraging the farmer to 

 demand a better product and the seedsmen to produce one. 



Other plant-breeding associations. The most notable 

 breeders' associations are the Canadian Seed Growers' 

 Association and the Swedish Seed Association. 



The former has an elaborate system of inspection of all 

 seeds sold by members of the association under the su- 

 pervision of a permanent, salaried secretary. The results 

 are noteworthy. The standard of seed grain has been 

 tremendously raised in Canada and much better crops 

 are the result. Canadian seed grain is now in demand 

 all over the world. The Canadian experiment stations 

 are leading in this work by carefully and systematically 

 producing improved varieties on their experimental farms 

 and distributing them to members of the association who 

 grow them, keeping up a careful selection from year to 

 year and offering them for sale. 



The Swedish association has an interesting history and 

 an enviable record. It has done more, probably, than 

 any other organization to reshape our conception and 

 methods of selection. Dr. Nilsson and his associates 

 have started on a large scale the principle of individual 

 selection in contrast to the older method of mass selection 



