INTRODUCTION 299 
The aim of the foregoing review has been to present the more promi- 
nent historical examples of the four general methods of plant breeding. 
Further details can be obtained from the authors cited and from Fru- 
wirth’s Die Ziichtung der landwirtschaftlichen Kulturpflanzen (The Breed- 
ing of Agricultural Crop Plants). This useful work, consisting of five 
volumes, is partly in its second and third revised editions and is the most 
complete and thorough treatise on plant-breeding methods. 
Organization of Plant-breeding Work.—Growing appreciation of the 
importance of plant improvement to agriculture has led to organized 
effort along certain lines, some of which are discussed briefly below. 
Seed and Plant Introduction.—The first teacher of plant breeding in 
America was also her first agricultural explorer. In 1882 Budd went to 
Europe and Asiatic Russia for the purpose of studying horticultural 
problems. He was accompanied by Thero Gibbs of Canada, and the 
expedition was financed by the Iowa State Legislature and the Canadian 
Government. As a result of this exploration many hardy shrubs and 
trees were introduced into America. The Russian cherries and apples 
were of especial importance as they have been used, notably by Saunders 
and Hansen, in the production of new varieties, which are sufficiently 
hardy to resist the cold winters of the northwest portion of the great 
interior plain. Bailey, in 1894, called attention to the similarity in 
climates and floras of eastern America and eastern Asia and emphasized 
the “abundant reason for looking toward oriental Asia for further 
acquisitions, either in other species or in novel varieties.’”? His wise 
‘foresight in this matter has received repeated verification in the numerous 
valuable introductions of Wilson and of Meyer. About this time the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture began to give serious attention to the intro- 
duction of seeds and plants from foreign countries under the supervision 
of Galloway. A few years later this important work was put in charge 
of Fairchild who has organized the present efficient system of agricultural 
exploration, seed and plant introduction, trial gardens and distribution 
of promising material. 
Collections of Plant-breeding Material—The importance of bringing 
together a working collection of all available species and varieties within 
a group in which improvement is desired has been increasingly appreci- 
ated since the work of Vilmorin. The importance of local variety trials 
has long been realized and the collections of cultivated varieties at various 
experiment stations have proven very useful for purposes of selection of 
better adapted sorts as well as for some work in hybridization. Well- 
known examples are the sweet pea, peony, and chrysanthemum collec- 
tions at Cornell University and the collections of apples, plums, and 
grapes at the Geneva, N. Y., Experiment Station. But, on account of the 
time and expense involved in the work of hybridization, it is highly im- 
Digitized by Microsoft® 
