that man domesticated and to the first wild grass whose seed was planted. What might not happen if every wild crop-bearing tree was improved to its maximum efficiency? Burbank and others have given us an inkling of what may result from well-planned selection, crossing, or hybridizing.
An image should appear at this position in the text. To use the entire page scan as a placeholder, edit this page and replace "{{missing image}}" with "{{raw image|Tree Crops; A Permanent Agriculture (1929).pdf/37}}". Otherwise, if you are able to provide the image then please do so. For guidance, see Wikisource:Image guidelines and Help:Adding images. |  |
From Journal of Agricultural An example of variation through artificial selection within the species. Diagram shows an average size of seedlings of Chinese, and Navajo maize planted at different depths. The Navajos, living in a dry country, have selected a strain of corn capable of sprouting from a very great depth and thus having better moisture opportunities. This picture shows how the other corns failed to push out through the sand.
The possibilities, at present quite incalculable, that lie in such work are hinted in one almost unbelievable statement of the great authority. Sargent, who says of the English walnut, which we all know is so good and meaty:
"The nut of the wild tree is small, with a thick hard shell and small kernel, and is scarcely edible; but centuries of cul-
the world market tinder the name of currant. It appears that the quantity of fruit a tree bears is in part a matter of habit. I have no idea that most trees bear all the fruit they are physiologically capable of producing. Careful experimentation along this line might be very productive.
