﻿278 
  G. 
  L. 
  Goodale 
  — 
  Possibilities 
  of 
  Economic 
  Botany. 
  

  

  is 
  theoretically 
  and 
  practically 
  almost 
  perfect 
  as 
  regards 
  food 
  

   ratio 
  between 
  the 
  nitrogenous 
  matters 
  and 
  the 
  starch 
  group 
  ; 
  

   and 
  the 
  food 
  value, 
  as 
  it 
  is 
  termed, 
  is 
  high. 
  But 
  aside 
  from 
  

   these 
  considerations, 
  it 
  would 
  be 
  seen 
  that 
  for 
  safety 
  of 
  preser- 
  

   vation 
  through 
  considerable 
  periods, 
  and 
  for 
  convenience 
  of 
  

   transportation, 
  the 
  cereals 
  take 
  highest 
  rank. 
  Pressure 
  would 
  

   come 
  from 
  every 
  side 
  to 
  compel 
  us 
  to 
  find 
  equivalents 
  for 
  the 
  

   lost 
  grains. 
  From 
  this 
  predicament 
  I 
  believe 
  that 
  the 
  well- 
  

   equipped 
  Experiment 
  Stations 
  and 
  the 
  Agricultural 
  Depart- 
  

   ments 
  in 
  Europe 
  and 
  America 
  would 
  by 
  and 
  by 
  extricate 
  us. 
  

   Continuing 
  this 
  hypothetical 
  case, 
  let 
  us 
  next 
  inquire 
  how 
  the 
  

   Stations 
  would 
  probably 
  go 
  to 
  work 
  in 
  the 
  up-hill 
  task 
  of 
  

   making 
  partially 
  good 
  a 
  well-nigh 
  irreparable 
  loss. 
  

  

  The 
  whole 
  group 
  of 
  relatives 
  of 
  the 
  lost 
  cereals 
  would 
  be 
  

   passed 
  in 
  strict 
  review. 
  Size 
  of 
  grain, 
  strength 
  and 
  vigor 
  and 
  

   plasticity 
  of 
  stock, 
  adaptability 
  to 
  different 
  surroundings, 
  and 
  

   flexibility 
  in 
  variation 
  would 
  be 
  examined 
  with 
  scrupulous 
  care. 
  

  

  But 
  the 
  range 
  of 
  experiment 
  would, 
  under 
  the 
  circum- 
  

   stances, 
  extend 
  far 
  beyond 
  the 
  relatives 
  of 
  our 
  present 
  cereals. 
  

   It 
  would 
  embrace 
  an 
  examination 
  of 
  the 
  other 
  grasses 
  which 
  

   are 
  even 
  now 
  cultivated 
  for 
  their 
  grains, 
  but 
  which 
  are 
  so 
  little 
  

   known 
  outside 
  of 
  their 
  own 
  limit, 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  a 
  surprise 
  to 
  hear 
  

   about 
  them. 
  For 
  example, 
  the 
  Millets, 
  great 
  and 
  small, 
  would 
  

   be 
  investigated. 
  These 
  grains, 
  so 
  little 
  known 
  here, 
  form 
  an 
  

   important 
  crop 
  in 
  certain 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  east. 
  One 
  of 
  the 
  leading 
  

   authorities 
  on 
  the 
  subject 
  8 
  states 
  that 
  the 
  Millets 
  constitute 
  "a 
  

   more 
  important 
  crop 
  " 
  in 
  India 
  " 
  than 
  either 
  Rice 
  or 
  Wheat, 
  and 
  

   are 
  grown 
  more 
  extensively, 
  being 
  raised 
  from 
  Madras 
  in 
  the 
  

   south 
  to 
  Rajputana 
  in 
  the 
  north. 
  They 
  occupy 
  about 
  eighty- 
  

   ' 
  three 
  per 
  cent 
  of 
  the 
  food-grain 
  area 
  in 
  Bombay 
  and 
  Sinde, 
  

   forty-one 
  per 
  cent 
  in 
  the 
  Punjab, 
  thirty-nine 
  per 
  cent 
  in 
  the 
  

   Central 
  Provinces," 
  "in 
  all 
  about 
  thirty 
  million 
  acres." 
  

  

  Having 
  chosen 
  proper 
  subjects 
  for 
  experimenting, 
  the 
  culti- 
  

   vators 
  would 
  make 
  use 
  of 
  certain 
  well-known 
  principles. 
  By 
  

   simple 
  selection 
  of 
  the 
  more 
  desirable 
  seeds, 
  strains 
  would 
  be 
  

   secured 
  to 
  suit 
  definite 
  wants, 
  and 
  these 
  strains 
  would 
  be 
  kept 
  

   as 
  races, 
  or 
  attempts 
  would 
  be 
  made 
  to 
  intensify 
  wished-for 
  

   characters 
  By 
  skillful 
  hybridizing 
  of 
  the 
  first, 
  second 
  and 
  

   higher 
  orders, 
  tendencies 
  to 
  wider 
  variation 
  would 
  be 
  obtained 
  

   and 
  the 
  process 
  of 
  selection 
  considerably 
  expedited. 
  9 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  out 
  of 
  our 
  power 
  to 
  predict 
  how 
  much 
  time 
  would 
  

   elapse 
  before 
  satisfactory 
  substitutes 
  for 
  our 
  cereals 
  could 
  be 
  

   found. 
  In 
  the 
  improvement 
  of 
  the 
  grains 
  of 
  grasses 
  other 
  

   than 
  those 
  which 
  have 
  been 
  very 
  long 
  under 
  cultivation, 
  experi- 
  

   ments 
  have 
  been 
  few, 
  scattered 
  and 
  indecisive. 
  Therefore 
  we 
  

   are 
  as 
  badly 
  off 
  for 
  time 
  ratios 
  as 
  are 
  the 
  geologists 
  and 
  

   archaeologists, 
  in 
  their 
  statements 
  of 
  elapsed 
  periods. 
  It 
  is 
  

  

  