The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1900-08-31
BREEDING UP.

lS1ualuQeE OF the Twelve months.
BREEDING UP.
All life. whether animal or vegetable,
develops along certain general lines
that are sufficiently identical to make
breeding up possible in both Kingdoms
by substantially the same methods. The
law of heredity. which prescribes that
like shall beget like, Is found in Cen
esis in the declaration of the Creator
that each living thing should produce
after its kind, and applies to both. The
law of variation. which gives to each
individual OF particular kind an in
dividuality Of its own, permeates all
life. The reader may know thousands
Of men and he will be able to see dis
tinguishable differences which prevent
him from mistaking one of his ac-
quaintances for another, and in like
manner each bud and plant have. to
the eye capable OF seeing them, differ
ences that are relatively just as po-
tential in comforting individuality upon
it. This fact makes possible selection
In the direction toward which the breed
er and improver Of either plants or an-
imals wishes to 60. All life, too, II
affected by environment, which is only
another way Of saying that all life has
to a certain degree the ability to con-
form to outward surroundings 1t
must have it or perish. A familiar ex-
ample is found in the fact that on the
southern edge of the corn belt seed
corn Of early varieties must be contin-
uously renewed from the north, or the
sort will, after few years Of cultiva-
ton In the new locality, cease to be
an early variety. The well known ex-
periments in which tall. broad-grain-
ed, white variety from America was
changed after six years Of cultivation in
Germany to . dwarf. finty, round-ker-
neled. yellow variety. is well known
and aptly illustrates the influence Of
environment. Many Of the facts of en-
vironment are within human control.
notably those depending upon the fer
tility Of the soil and the moisture sup
ply where irrigation is possible. The
facts Of climate are less controllable.
but even they can be helped by a selec-
ton Of exposure. the growing Of wind
breaks and the like.
While in the improvement and de-
velopment OF domestic animals. in or
der to make them better adapted to
mans use, the laws which make such
development and Improvement possi-
BILE are pretty clearly recognized; with
respect to plants the recognition is
much less general. A few plant breed
ers have associated the facts and have
greatly improved nearly all varieties
Of cultivated vegetation by the applica-
ton Of their knowledge of the work,
but the frequently observed tendency Of
improved varieties to run out" indi-
Gates that the general farmer, for whose
benefit the improved varieties have
been made. does not appreciate the me-
oessity for continuing. under penalty
Of losing the improvements, the con-
ditions that have made them. If the
farmer will, at least for this seed crop,
continue the work Of selection, he. too,
can be an improver, and for his own
particular locality can make better i'm
provements than could even vilmorin,
because they will be made under the
conditions Of his own environment and
will therefore continue more stable.
Work Of this kind not only improves
the seed, but 1t improves the farmer
who carries 1t on. It makes him more
thouhtful, more observant and brins
the powers of his mind more fully into
action and thus cultivates them. The
faculties thus excited strengthen and
their application soon becomes visible
in all the work Of the farm. Every
farmer should. in limited way, at
least, try to be an improver Of the seed
he uses, not only for the sake Of his
crop. but for his own sake. In making
better corn. better wheat, better oats,
or the like, he will find himself gradu-
ally making a bette 'mer and q
more capable all-aro, IN.