117 
Federation oi Agricctlturai Organizations. 
On motion of H. J. Wheeler, of Rhode Island, the chair waa empowered to 
appoinl ;i committee of three t<> Recure, If possible, a federatloo of agricultural 
organizationa in the Individual States of the Union. 
The chairman appointed on this committee II. J. Wheeler, of Rhode island; 
C. l>. Woods, of Maine, and 11. .J. Patterson, of Maryland. 
Uniformity of Terms Used in .\<.ki< i lti ral Analysis. 
Attention was called to the fad that the genera] session of the association had 
referred to this section the subject of nomenclature Cor fertilizer constituents. 
It was moved by C. G. Hopkins, of Illinois, and seconded by 0. B. Thorne, of 
Ohio, that a committee of five be appointed to consider the nomenclature for 
reporting the analysis of fertilizers, soils, plants, and other agricultural products 
and materials; that this committee should confer with a similar committee from 
the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists, and rei>ort to this section at 
the next annual meeting. 
The chairman appointed on this committee C G. Hopkins, of Illinois; H. J. 
Wheeler, of Rhode Island; A. T. Neale, of Delaware; K. J. Davidson, of Vir- 
ginia, and H. Snyder, of Minnesota. 
Plant Breeding — The Shakespeare of the Species. 
W. M. Hays, of Minnesota, read a paper on this subject which was subse- 
quently withdrawn. 
B. C. Buffum. of Wyoming. One point brought out in the paper so ably pre- 
sented by Professor Hays it seems to me was not given sufficient weight. In 
fact, he stated that a variety of apple was practically the same in any section 
in which it is grown. 
The modifying influence of environment is very great. It is perhaps more 
.strongly marked in the comparatively new arid region which I represent. In 
fact, my observation would lead me to suspect that the same " homozygotes " 
may have produced both the white man and the black man. A species supposedly 
hxed by careful and long-continued breeding when transferred to an environ- 
ment very different from that under which it was formed soon becomes unrecog- 
nizable. I knew a case a short time ago of an apple which belongs to Professor 
Hay's species of the first class having no immediate modifying blood strains, 
as it is only a part of the parent, that was purchased by a western nurseryman 
from a firm in Missouri. The trees were sold to a farmer, and in five or six 
years, when they began to bear, the farmer sent samples of fruit back to the 
nurseryman to be named. He did not recognize the variety and sent the fruit 
to the Missouri firm. who. in turn, could not name the variety. It was sent to 
Mr. Taylor, of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, who reported that the apple 
must have been a Missouri Pippin, but its variation had made it almost im- 
possible to recognize any characteristics of the variety. 
The hard wheat when taken to the arid region from Minnesota begins to 
vary quite quickly, and in a few years the kernels of grain become very differ- 
ent. There seems to be a tendency on our arid soils, poor in nitrogen for gluten- 
ous wheats, to become starchy, and many of the grains take on a white, starchy 
appearance. 
In live stock the same thing pertains. A son of Corrector which has been 
bred for heavy meat points in the chine and twist, if taken away from the corn- 
cribs and placed on a western range will begin to develop a form more nearly 
