RELATION OF BIOLOGY TO AGRICULTURE 551 



utilized to develop such new varieties of old species as will be adapted to 

 the alkali and semi-arid and otherwise unproductive areas, and thus add 

 greatly to the production from large areas that can never hope to be 

 brought under irrigation. 



The securing of seed to produce maximum yields is a matter that 

 has to be canvassed for each particular field and for each particular type 

 of farming necessitated by local conditions governing production and 

 marketing. 



In the animal kingdom the new conception of heredity may produce 

 new strains and new breeds to meet newly created demands, or to meet 

 the requirements of localities not fully served by existing types. 



The length of time between generations of animals, and the great 

 number of characters that must be considered make it appear that 

 animal breeding, even more than plant breeding, must still remain an 

 art. It is as true to-day as when stated by Darwin fifty years ago, that, 



not one man in a thousand has accuracy of eye and judgment sufficient to 

 become an eminent breeder. If gifted with these qualities, and he studies the 

 subject for years, and devotes his lifetime to it with indomitable perseverance, 

 he will succeed and may make great improvement. If he wants any of these 

 qualities, he will assuredly fail. 



It is not in the appearance of eminent breeders, however, that the 

 greatest hope of the future lies. Most of our past progress has been 

 effected as a result of the distribution of surplus stock of eminent 

 breeders, who knew nothing of the science upon which their work was 

 based. Naturally gifted breeders of the future will be able to accom- 

 plish still more, because, as a result of study, they may come to have 

 the proper appreciation of fundamental facts which they could other- 

 wise have attained only by experience extending over a large part of the 

 periods of their activities. 



In both animals and plants we may look for advancement through 

 the elevation of the best existing types, but a still greater economic 

 advancement may be expected through the discarding, by the majority, 

 of their inferior stock, in order that they may procure the instruments 

 of greater worth, and so emulate the practises of the more progressive 

 of their acquaintances. 



This progressive attitude will come as a result of the more general 

 and the more practical appreciation by the many, of the faith in hered- 

 ity and selection that has been the cornerstone of the success of the few 

 in the past. It will be accomplished by the spread of biological knowl- 

 edge concerning heredity. It is true that that knowledge is in imper- 

 fect form and that we are still unable to originate what we desire, but 

 such significant facts as are fully established shed sufficient light to 

 dispel the darkness and mystery that still prevent over ninety per cent. 

 of our farmers from entertaining that conception of the influence of 

 heredity that is essential to good economic practise. 



