The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-03-19
Farmers should Experiment.

In a very commonly used sense of the
word all farming may be called expert
mental. The conditions Of soil, season
and many other important matters make
success always a matteriof doubt, SAYS
the American Cultivator. II is not of the
uncertainties of the farmers work that
we wish to speak, but rather of The more
common use Of the wo.d experiment. which
limits it TO the comparison Of different
ways of farming which are adopted with
the set purpose of dete rmining which is
the more profitable and safe.
This IS not so common as II used to be
before state and national experiment
farm stations were established. These
were fully equipped to make experiments
with more exactilude than the average
farmer could hope 10 secure. The reports
of these stations are widely published in
official form and in the papers. As toe
farmer has found substitute that offers
10 take the work off his hands, what woa-
der is it if the part of farming that never
pays-that of trying new things and new
methods-is left 70 the agencies that gCV
eminent has put in charge of it? There is
far too much tendency among farmers TO
get into ruts, and finding that they can
make some money by ways to which they
are used. they deprecate any and all
changes, or even a trial of them as Likely
to result in loss.
Most of the important changes in the es-
tabshed methods of farming do result in
losses that prevent The majority from try
ing to repeat them. Were il not that some
men seem determined to find out better
ways than were formerly used. progress
in farming would be much slower than it
is Most of the originators of new pro l.
ucts, though they are tardily recognized
as public benefactors, are yet obi ged TO
pay the penalty by losing all they had of
I III. lz,t
lives. This is not prospect that attracts
! men to the work of making experiments
unless they are first impelled thereto by
an impulse that they cannot resist. 1t is
no wonder that men who are content TO
plod on in old ways, and all the TIM
making a little money, lock upon these
innovators as enthusiasts and fanatics.
Yet we wish that there were more dar-
| ing experimenters. The imProvers in
methods of farming teke more original
| ways in EXPERIMENTING than do most of the
| experimenteTs on experimental farms, DOtn
state and national. These restrict them
| selves to making more elaborate tests of
principles and methods which farmers nod
/ previously learned. They do not try to
| originate new varieties of fruit. If it is
| because the chances Of Improvement over
! existing varieties are not sufficient to war
/ rant the years Of waiting while thousands
| of worthless varieties a re being cultivated
:
| settled, and then cast aside that Is pre-
| olsely why the state experiment stations
! should do it. Is 1t not possible for expert
/ ment stations TO do what some priyare
! propaga tors have done? That is. to study
/ the habits of different kinds of fruits, and
! then cross them upon each other by dis
! tributing the pollen of one variety of OPP
! proved merit upon the pollen of another?
! In this way few of the finest kinds of
/ fruits have been originated. Why cannot
the crossing of fruits be made with the
! same reasonable certainty that the pro-
duct will be valuable as is done on the
crossing of animals whose excellences are
| made to combine by crossing.
| Heretofore most of the valuable varie-
ties of fruit have been produced by acci-
dent. as some specimen which nature
| crossed grew to maturity, and its seed
was planted where it had q good chanGa
| 70 grow and develop its value. But for
| every one thus saved. there are thousands
as good and SOME perhaps better, which
| are grated over, so that none of the nat
ural fruit IS ever allowed TO bear. What
| is needed is TO make certain that varie-
lies of undoubted excellence are crossed
with each other. Then If the seed from
| thus crossed is planted we shall have
much better assurance in growing nursery
| stock, with strong probability that it Will
not need budding or grating to make il
| valuable for the fruit grower.