esearch work goes on continually. Sometimes 
it seems that a tremendous amount of effort is being 
expended to correct trivial flaws, but if a blight resistant 
strain of beans comes finally from those efforts, or 
greater heat resistance in peas, or finer flavor in radish, 
then those efforts have been worth while. 
Not only is there a constant battle of wits in making new 
things and improving the old ones, but there is the ever¬ 
present problem of keeping the old strains pure and 
true. 
Out in .the irrigated mountain west lies the real business 
of putting into use the vigilance of the research depart¬ 
ment. Peas grow best in one place, beans in another, 
corn in another. These best places are diligently searched 
out. It is only at those spots that the finest possible 
seed can be grown. No disease. Plump seed. Healthy 
plants. 
But even after the crops have been harvested the same 
high degree of effort must continue. Eagle-eyed experts 
linger over every lot of seed, constantly on the alert for 
things amiss. The machinery of the business begins to 
turn. Delicate, yet roaring machines sort the seed by 
specific gravity with uncanny accuracy, and the light 
seed is discarded. The plumpest, strongest seed moves 
on to other processes. Trained workers inspect certain 
kinds of seeds, one by one on moving belts. Special 
