The Washington herald., 1908-01-28
BREEDERS WILL MEET
Annual Gathering of Scien-
lists in Rifles ArmOry.
TO IMPROVE LIVING THINGS
Eminent Investigators I'm Biology
VIII Reveal Latest Results I'm De-
VeIOpment OF Farm Animals, Fruits,
Grains, Flowers, and Friendly
Bacteria-Ofher Features.

The annual convention Of the American
Breeders Association will begin this
morning at 10 O'Clock at the National
Rifles ArmOry. The programme calls
for three sessions to-day, three to-mor-
row, aad two Thursday, the convention
closing Thursday night.
The national breeders association is
now four years old. It has d member
ship OF LOO. which includes many Of the
scholars and advanced scientists of the
day connected with agricultural and other
institutions of learning. They have come
10 Washington from all parts OF the
United States and from Canada In the
papers read and the addresses given
there Will be opportunity TO hear the
latest results Of the application OF scien-
tifc principles to the Improvement Of
living things The association directs its
experiments and investigations TO plants.
animals, and even TO human beings in
one branch OF its study. Effort is made
TO make the papers and discussions at the
annual conventions popular. interesting.
and helpful to the public as well as to the
learned scientists who assemble 70 hear
them. To this end many Of the papers
will be illustrated with stereopticon views,
charts, and other data.
Covers a Wide Range.
The work Of the breeders associa-
tion covers a wide range. It's members
arc working to improve the great draft
horses which propel the farm plow and
wagon, and with equa! zeal 10 give the
greatest vigor to the microscopic bae-
terium that weighs less than the mil
lionth part of an ounce. but performs a
useful work in the protection Of Ger
tain forms Of plant life Its work
extends 20 the crossing Of domesticated
with wild species. and the development
along scientific lines Of new animals
and plants of higher physical qualities,
better flesh, fruits. flowers, or fbers.
Following the law Of selection, the
quality Of the COW. the horse. the barn
yard fowl. the sheep. and the goat have
been bettered many hundred per cent.
Better grains in the wheat. corn. and
oats belts are harvested through the
efforts Of these breeders.
4 few years ago scientists discov-
cred that species OF bacteria work in
little nodules on the roots Of certain
plants, drawing nitrogen from the air
which goes to the sustenaBce Of the
plants. Now they are not only breed
ing and distributing millions OF these
bacteria for field use, but they are act
ually improving the bacteria by breed
ing and selection. In Europe they ars
breeding in milk certain species of
friendly bacteria which. taken into the
human stomach, viii contend with and
vanquish unfriendly germs, and thus
pT0long human life. And our scientific
doctors are breeding germs 10 fght
germs IN the treatment of many dis
eases.
To Grow Oranges in Washington.
D. H. J. Webber. Of Cornell University.
will attend the convention and read a
paper on heredity and one on cotton
breeding. He Is well known in Wash
ington, having been in the Department
Of Agriculture for many years. His
greatest work has been the hybridizing
Of citrus fruits and the improvement OF
cotton.
DR.. Weber witnessed the devastation
wrought by freezing in the orange groves
Of Florida, and he determined to breed
an orange that would defy the cold wave.
So he set 10 work crossing the orange
with hardy citrus species that could
stand the cold but did not bear edible
fruit. The hybTidizing resulted in a fruit
which has been named the citrange: in
fact, several distinct varieties have al
practically seedless. Some of these have
withstood winter weather much colder
than We have had in Washington this
winter
Then there is Luther Burbank that mod
ern magician of COR far West. He is a
member Of the association. He appears
20 deal with plants as if they We're The
pieces on a chessbOard. He works his
viii In changing the color Of flowers lie
has bred the spines of the cactus plant
to make it suitable forage for cattle in
the arid Southwest and he has even pro-
duced seedless plum, or one that IS
practically so.
Other Features of Programme.
DR.. David Starr Jordan, president OF
Leland Stanford University. VIII submit
a raIer on the Improvement Of the hunsn
species Col J. C Jones. known as "Buf-
falo Jones" viii describe ths hybrids ot
the bunalo and domestic CittIc called ths
"cattelo."
Clifford Pinchot, OF the Forest Service,
is on the programme for a report on
Breeding forest and nut trees" c. o.
Townsend VIII tell Of the. governments
efforts TO produce ''single-germ beet
seed" W. T. Swingle, who is carrying
on the work with citrus fruits with
which Dr. Webber was so prominently
identified, viii report on that subject.
A. D. Shamel viii report on Breeding
tobacco" The secretaries of three great
dairy cattle breeding associations will he
on hand To tell how the modern dairy
COW has been produced
DR.. George N. Rommel viii talk about
the new breed of American carriage
horses. The Breeding of fur animals"
viii be presented by Vernon Bailey. The
Breeding Of carnations" will be reported
on by c. w. Ward, Of Queens, y. y,
and the association will hold q Joint ses-
sion with the American Carnation So
cety on Wednesday afternoon.
Prof W E. Castle. of Harvard Uni
versity. will tell about Color variation
in domestic animals" Homer Davenport.
of New Jersey. best known as cartoon
ist. will report on the Breeding Of
Arabian horses" a subject in which he
takes a lively interest
D.H. ro,uEfv far AssauIf