﻿G. 
  L. 
  Goodale 
  — 
  Possibilities 
  of 
  Economic 
  Botany. 
  279 
  

  

  impossible 
  for 
  us 
  to 
  ignore 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  there 
  appear 
  to 
  be 
  

   occasions 
  in 
  the 
  life 
  of 
  a 
  species 
  when 
  it 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  peculiarly 
  

   susceptible 
  to 
  the 
  influences 
  of 
  its 
  surroundings. 
  10 
  A 
  species, 
  

   like 
  a 
  carefully 
  laden 
  ship, 
  represents 
  a 
  balancing 
  of 
  forces 
  

   within 
  and 
  without. 
  Disturbance 
  may 
  come 
  through 
  variation 
  

   from 
  within, 
  as 
  from 
  a 
  shifting 
  of 
  the 
  cargo, 
  or, 
  in 
  some 
  cases 
  

   from 
  without. 
  We 
  may 
  suppose 
  both 
  forces 
  to 
  be 
  active 
  in 
  

   producing 
  variation, 
  a 
  change 
  in 
  the 
  internal 
  condition 
  render- 
  

   ing 
  the 
  plant 
  more 
  susceptible 
  to 
  any 
  change 
  in 
  its 
  surround- 
  

   ings. 
  Under 
  the 
  influence 
  of 
  any 
  marked 
  disturbance, 
  a 
  state 
  

   of 
  unstable 
  equilibrium 
  may 
  be 
  brought 
  about, 
  at 
  which 
  times 
  

   the 
  species 
  as 
  such 
  is 
  easily 
  acted 
  upon 
  by 
  very 
  slight 
  agencies. 
  

  

  One 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  marked 
  of 
  these 
  derangements 
  is 
  a 
  conse- 
  

   quent 
  of 
  cross-breeding 
  within 
  the 
  extreme 
  limits 
  of 
  varieties. 
  

   The 
  resultant 
  forms 
  in 
  such 
  cases 
  can 
  persist 
  only 
  by 
  close 
  

   breeding 
  or 
  by 
  propagation 
  from 
  buds 
  or 
  the 
  equivalents 
  of 
  

   buds. 
  Disturbances 
  like 
  these 
  arise 
  unexpectedly 
  in 
  the 
  ordi- 
  

   nary 
  course 
  of 
  nature, 
  giving 
  us 
  sports 
  of 
  various 
  kinds. 
  

   These 
  critical 
  periods 
  however, 
  are 
  not 
  unwelcome, 
  since 
  skill- 
  

   ful 
  cultivators 
  can 
  take 
  advantage 
  of 
  them. 
  In 
  this 
  very 
  held 
  

   much 
  has 
  been 
  accomplished. 
  An 
  attentive 
  study 
  of 
  the 
  

   sagacious 
  work 
  done 
  by 
  Thomas 
  Andrew 
  Knight 
  shows 
  to 
  

   what 
  extent 
  this 
  can 
  be 
  done. 
  11 
  But 
  we 
  must 
  confess 
  that 
  it 
  

   would 
  be 
  absolutely 
  impossible 
  to 
  predict 
  with 
  certainty 
  how 
  

   long 
  or 
  how 
  short 
  would 
  be 
  the 
  time 
  before 
  new 
  cereals 
  or 
  

   acceptable 
  equivalents 
  for 
  them 
  would 
  be 
  provided. 
  Upheld 
  

   by 
  the 
  confidence 
  which 
  I 
  have 
  in 
  the 
  intelligence, 
  ingenuity, 
  

   and 
  energy 
  of 
  our 
  Experiment 
  Stations, 
  I 
  may 
  say 
  that 
  the 
  

   time 
  would 
  not 
  probably 
  exceed 
  that 
  of 
  two 
  generations 
  of 
  our 
  

   race, 
  or 
  half 
  a 
  century. 
  

  

  In 
  now 
  laying 
  aside 
  our 
  hypothetical 
  illustration, 
  I 
  venture 
  

   to 
  ask 
  why 
  it 
  is 
  that 
  our 
  Experiment 
  Statious 
  and 
  other 
  insti- 
  

   tutions 
  dealing 
  with 
  plants 
  and 
  their 
  improvement, 
  do 
  not 
  

   undertake 
  investigations 
  like 
  those 
  which 
  I 
  have 
  sketched? 
  

   Why 
  are 
  not 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  grasses 
  other 
  than 
  our 
  present 
  

   cereals 
  studied 
  with 
  reference 
  to 
  their 
  adoption 
  as 
  food 
  grains 
  % 
  

   One 
  of 
  these 
  species 
  will 
  naturally 
  suggest 
  itself 
  to 
  you 
  all, 
  

   namely, 
  the 
  Wild 
  Rice 
  of 
  the 
  Lakes. 
  12 
  Observations 
  have 
  

   shown 
  that, 
  were 
  it 
  not 
  for 
  the 
  difficulty 
  of 
  harvesting 
  these 
  

   grains 
  which 
  fall 
  too 
  easily 
  when 
  they 
  are 
  ripe, 
  they 
  might 
  be 
  

   utilized. 
  But 
  attentive 
  search 
  might 
  find 
  or 
  educe 
  some 
  

   variety 
  of 
  Zizania, 
  with 
  a 
  more 
  persistent 
  grain 
  and 
  a 
  better 
  

   yield. 
  There 
  are 
  two 
  of 
  our 
  sea-shore 
  grasses 
  which 
  have 
  

   excellent 
  grains, 
  but 
  are 
  of 
  small 
  yield. 
  Why 
  are 
  not 
  these, 
  

   or 
  better 
  ones 
  which 
  might 
  be 
  suggested 
  by 
  observation, 
  taken 
  

   in 
  hand? 
  

  

  