The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1903-07-17
Introducing Novelties.


The subject of Prof. l.. II. Bailey's adj
dress before the American Association
OF Nurserymen at Detroit was The
Whole Question of Varieties" He ad
mitted that the subject covered a very
extensive field of discussion and reas-
sured his hearers when be stated that
he dld not IN his address expect to solve
the whole question of varieties, but only
TO state some important and trouble
some aspects of it.
THE VARIETY CONCEPTION.
He showed that the variety conception
Is really late idea in the development
OF the human race He said:
1t is practically only within the past
two centuries that cultivated varieties
OF plants have been recognized as being
worthy of receiving designative names.
1t Is within this period, also, that most
OF the great breeds ofanimals have been
defined and separately named. All this
measures the increasing intimacy of our
contact with domesticated plants and
animals. 1t is a record of our progress.
The people that are most advanced i'm
the cultivation of any plant are the ones
that have the greatest number of named
varieties of that plant. In Japan, to this
day, the plums often pass under Hide
fined class names. We have introduced
these classes into this country, have
sorted out the particular forms that
promise to be of value to us, and have
given them specific American names.
Not long ago a native professor of Japan
wrote me asking for cions of these plums,
in order that he might introduce Jap
anese plums into Japan. The Russian
apples are designated to some extent by
class names. What constitutes a variety
is increasingly more difficult to define,
because we are constantly ditferentiating
on smaller points. The growth of the
variety-conception is the growth of the
power of analysis.
THE NEW PLANT BREEDING.
Continuing Professor Bailey said
We are at the beginning of new era
in plant breeding. We are not only do
ing more actual work in breeding than
we have done before, but the purposes
that we have in mind in attacking the
problems are different from the Old 1t
is of no consequence either to produce
or TO introduce a new Variety but 1t
Is of immense consequence to produce
line of plants having superior efficiency
for some special purpose. Plant breed
ing is worthy of the name only as it sets
definite ideals and then works towards
them with practicable assurance. Mere
ly sowing seeds to see what will turn up
is not very different, SO far as the prob
abilities of results is concerned, from the
throwing of dice. We are to breed not
so much for merely new and striking
characters, that will enable us to name,
describe and sell novelty as to inn
prove the performance along accustomed
lines. 1t may be worth while TO pro
duce a "new variety" of potato by rails
ing new plants from the seed balls; but
il is much more to the point to augment
the mealiness of some existing variety or
TO intensity its blght-resisting qualities.
1t may be worth while to have another
large red apple, but it would be much
more worth the while to have one of bet
ter quality for export. 1t is possible to
secure five or ten per cent increase IN
the efficiency Of our field crops; this
would mean the annual addition OF
hundreds of millions of dollars TO be
national gain. 1t is possible, also, to in
crease the efficiency of every kind Of
fruit and flower.
In all the short-generation plants that
are grown from seeds and without the
interpostion Of budding or grating, II
is relatively easy to augment the ELI
cheney points. This augmenting is ac-
complished by selection from individual
plants of merit quite independently of
the particular variety to. which these
plants belong. When the final result is
attained, the race may not differ from its
ancestors in outward describable charac-
tiers. but it may be more efficient IN quail
ity, in yield, in chemical content, in dis
ease-resisting or drought-resisting quail
tiles.
Has it ever occurred to you that the
practice of introducing" novelties has
an element of humor? 1t reminds me
of the debut that the young woman
makes into society, with all the fanfar-
onade of new bonnets and shiny ribbons
and writeups in the newspapers. And
the next year the debutante is forgot
ten and others take her place. Now
and then woman comes into recogni-
ton for her womanly traits or her good
deeds or her strong personality, and
when we look up her history, behold. she
was never introduced" at all
Now / believe in novelties" There
are essays of mine in your proceeding:
10 attest that fact. Without noveltie:
there is no progress. But we must al
be cognzant of the fact that nine-tenth'
of the red-ink novelties never stick
Certainly these nine-tenths do not rep
resent progress. Now, it is fact tina
the people are suspicious of novelties
Who buys the new apple or the new pea
or the new tomato that has every meri
and lacks every fault? Does the eXper
fenced planter put out farm of them
that ne may reap the rewards thereof
~. H., 4ba cautiouG buVpr and tn,