162 THE ROMANCE OF EVERIFARM 



able to nourish themselves, and if by proper breed- 

 ing we eliminate the undesirable qualities of the 

 plants, improving the more desirable qualities 

 through cross-breeding, we shall then be able to 

 establish disease-resistant strains of our great agri- 

 cultural grains and thereby eradicate many of our 

 worst diseases. 



"We have now proved that the old corn stalks are 

 a rank source of infection to the following crop of 

 spring wheat, or to the corn crop if the field is again 

 planted to corn. Therefore, it seems desirable that 

 we should sacrifice some of the fertilizer found in the 

 stalks when plowed under, in order to eradicate the 

 disease more quickly. So when we plant either corn 

 or spring wheat following corn, the ground should 

 either be plowed early in the fall, as soon as the 

 corn is harvested, or the stalks should be destroyed 

 by burning in the spring. 



"Then, of course, we must make a most rigid test 

 in germinating the seed corn and plant only the 

 seed which is disease-resistant or disease-fr^. Also, 

 the infected wheat straw should never be returned 

 to the fields as fertilizer or protection to other crops, 

 as it only aids in distributing the disease further over 

 the farms. 



"Now, after working with plants as many years as 



