The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-12-29

tribution Immediately passes out Of the
domain of the local. But In order that II
may be made the subject of united effort
be an or sne
10 DO the work in order that the same
general plan shall be pursued by each
h taSls viii general s scheme with de-
factory. In order to arrive at best results
the personal equaaon of the observer
must be eliminated to the utmost possible
| extent.
This can only be accomplished by the
| adoption of an iron-clad system OF note.
making, which shall be so full In detail
that the observer. instead Of being left to
| his own invention. has suggestion from
the outline at every new turn. Such a
plan. If adhered to by all who carry out
g,ud msk upon aVaabe W u
terial from which broad general principle,
both of theory and practice, can be de-
! duced.
TIME AND ENERGY NECESSARY.
Had such scheme of understanding
been put into operation in the matter OF
variety-testing at the time the Federal
experiment stations were organized. the
time and energy which has been expended
upon variety-testing up to the present
time would furnish data upon which con-
clusions might be based which would set
at rest. for all time, discussion regarding
the part which climate and soil play in
Oh HORTICULTURAL 1OrIuS, as
| well as the question of the stability of
varieties propagated either asexually or
from seed.
with such information at his COM
mand, the scotsman would know the par.
| ticular district or districts best fitted for
the production of certain class OF seeds.
There could also be more Intelligent dis
trtbution of varieties by seedsmen. The
strains and varieties especially fitted to
any particular section would be deter
mined, and the distribution could be made
| to conform to this information with betf
ter success alike to the grower ana the
scotsman. Such information would be OF
great service to the truck growers IN
guiding the development of new FIELDS, as
well as new industries.
Those interested in supplying fresh veg
etables for the market as well as those
growing truck for canning would be af-
fected.
would. IL properly conceived and exc
cuted. serve as a basis for those tax.
anomic studies which are SO much needed
for the fruits as well as for the vegeta-
bles. The work of Irish upon the capsi-
Gums and the beans is an effort in the
right direction. and serves to emphasize
1.-The speaker has for number of years
been greatly impressed with the need Of
coordination along this line and has dur
ing the last two years spent considerable
Professor W. W. Tracy. Sr., in the devel-
opment of a set of note blanks for use of
station horticulturists and seedsmen
which will assist them In producing COM
parable data upon the horticultural varte-
ties Of vegetables.
1T is not to be expected that every one
will adopt these outlines or that every
one will conduct variety tests. but the
experience of the last two years leads us
to believe that the next decade will see
the accumulation Of data based on some
universal plan Of note-taking which will
afford comparable data that will furnish
a basis for the much-needed stuGies on the
geographical limitations of horticultural
varieties.
Vegetables by no means stand alone
among plants which receive attention at
the hand Of the horticulturist. The rap
demands that decorative plants Of all de-
scriptions be brought under the same care
full scrunity. Little Is at present known
in regard to the fitness Of our common
ornamental shrubs and trees for districts
States: The flood Of inquiries which are
annually heaped upon US taken IN COM
partson with the meager knowledge which
books and periodicals furnish. forces one
to a realization of the Importance of spe-
cific information upon these broad cub
jects.
'It occurs to the writer that this society.
drawing as It does its patronage from
an immensely important factor in aiding
the accumulation Of Information Of this
character. It's committees can be made
permanent, and through them its work
can be of character to challenge criti-
cism.
Judging from the spirit of cooperation
which has been manifest by the horti-
cultural workers of the country upon the
movement to place the variety records for
e IS pe or the
this endeavor to the more important and
far reaching problems OF phrenology.