68 EMMET—THE CURTIS STEAM TURBINE. [April 2, 
Yield ideals. 
Quality ideals. 
Seasonal ideals. 
Physical conformation ideals. 
Regional adaptation ideals—as to climate, altitude, soil. 
. Resistant ideals—as to diseases and insects. 
The main improvement and evolution of agriculture are going to 
come as the result of greater and better crop yield and greater and 
better animal production. It is not to come primarily from inven- 
tion, good roads, rural telephone, legislation, discussion of 
economics. All these are merely aids. Increased crop and animal 
production are to come from two agencies: improvement in the 
care that they receive; improvement in the plants and animals 
themselves. In other words, the new agriculture is to be built upon 
the combined results of better cultivation and better breeding. So 
far as the new breeding is concerned, it is characterized by perfect 
definiteness of purpose and effort, the stripping away of all 
arbitrary and factitious standards, the absence of speculative theory 
and the insistence upon the great fact that every plant and animal 
has individuality. 
CORNELL UNIVERSITY, ITHACA, N. Y. 
NAM WD 
THE CURTIS STEAM TURBINE. 
BY W. L. R. EMMET. 
(Read April 2, 1903.) 
The development which this paper describes is based upon the 
original theories and inventions of Mr. C. G. Curtis, of New York, 
whose ideas were first made the subject of patent application about 
1895. Since that time these inventions have been the subject of 
experimental investigation at Schenectady, under the direction of 
Mr. Curtis and of the General Electric Company’s engineers; the 
object of these experiments being to establish data and laws which 
would form a basis for the correct design of commercial apparatus. 
The difficulties of such an investigation are very great. All new 
facts must be established by the tests of different machines or parts 
which are difficult and expensive to produce. About two years ago 
