Mr. Peters-That is a question I can hardly answer with any degree of accuracy, because the reports have not yet come up. We recognize that we may get information that would as well be left unpublished, and we may get information that ought to be in the hands of the trade. Mr. Tracy and myself have talked that matter over, and we decided the thing to do was to go ahead and collect the information and then use our best discretion as to placing it before the public. We, of course, intend to place before the public all the information that we collect that will be helpful to the trade and people who use seeds, but, of course, it may be that you would get information that would not be particularly helpful to any body and might be harmful to somebody, and that information will probably remain in our archives. The exact carrying out of this will have to depend on circumstances as they arise. Our general idea is to give the trade and the public all the information we can, but not hurt anybody who ought not to be hurt. (Applause.)

President Stokes-The question came up in a conversation with Mr. Keeney last evening. He has had for a number of years a little book he carries in his inside coat pocket in which he has very carefully drawn the outlines of all the different varieties of peas and beans, both flat and on edge, which are exceedingly interesting to any one who wishes to make a study of the characteristics of all varieties, and it would be expensive for a single individual to put that data, which is exceedingly valuable to all of us, in book form, but it seems to me that it would be a most desirable thing if the Government could do that for us with the funds at their disposal, and I am sure we would be glad to have them do so.

We will now be glad to hear from Mr. W. W. Tracy, who has kindly consented to read us a paper on "The Importance of Accurate Descriptions of the Varieties of Garden Vegetables."

Mr. W. W. Tracy, of Washington, D. C., here read his paper on

THE IMPORTANCE OF ACCURATE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE VARIETIES OF GARDEN VEGETABLES.

It is essential to the profitable discussion of such a subject as descriptions of garden vegetables that there be a perfect understanding and agreement as to facts and conditions, and the terms applied to them, and to this end I wish to speak first of certain botanical facts and terms as I understand them. Individuality, definite tendencies, limitations and possibilities of development is an invariable accompaniment of life. Every living thing, no matter how lowly, has an individual character, distinct form, though in some cases not discernably different from that of every other organism, even from those of the same species, and the higher in the scale of being the more distinct and positive is this individuality or character.

This character comes to the organism chiefly through inheritance, and is mainly made up of tendencies-limitations and potentialities which it receives not only from its immediate parents but through them, from each and every ancestor back for an indefinite number of generations. The relative dominance of these different influences in the formation of the complete character varies infinitely and is controled by laws which man is not yet wise enough to understand. Sometimes the organism, as far as human eye can discern, is precisely like one parent, and all other influences seem to have been overcome. Again the immediate parents seem to have had no influence, and the organism is most like some ancestor two or three, or even a score, of generations back, and the number of possible variations because of different degrees and combinations of these different ancestral influences is infinite. It is only where all its ancestors are essentially alike in every particular, as is the case in most wild plants, that the character of an organism is predetermined, and then it is so only because it makes no difference what the combination or relative influence of its various ancestors are, since all are alike. But even when the inherent characters of two organisms are practically the same there may be a marked difference in their development because of different conditions of environment, and these differences in development constantly repeated always have more or less influence over the descendants and sometimes result in the appearance of a plant, which is a very wide departure from the normal type of the species. Such departures are called sports or variations, and the conservation and increase of such vegetable variations as are of especial value to man is the great object and purpose of the horticulturist.

All plants can be divided into two classes; in the first the plant lives on from year to year, and as each season recurs it produces a crop of fruit and seeds to be followed by other crops in succeeding

years. In the other the plant starting from a seed reaches full development and then exhausts itself in the production of a single crop of fruit and seed, after which it dies and gives place, through seed, to new plants, which in turn produce seed and die, thus keeping up a succession of individuals. When the horticulturist finds a valuable sport or variation in a plant of the first class his work consists in preserving that plant and increasing its product to the utmost. This he accomplishes by some method of division by which the producing power of the plant is increased, often enormously. In the case of the apple not only may every bud of the original tree be developed through grafting, budding, etc., to a tree equal in size and productive power to the original, but every bud of these secondary trees can be similarly developed and the multiplication continued indefinitely, but each tree of the possible infinite number so produced is not a distinct individual, but simply a part of the original one with all its limitations and potentialities, and a variety in this case consists simply of all these separate parts of a single individual.

It is true that because of different invironment the fruit of two trees of a variety may differ quite materially, but let the conditions of growth be interchanged and the character of the product will be correspondingly changed also. A definition and description of what the original plant is or was is a description of all its parts and of the variety it may be imperfect and incomplete, and those made by different persons may vary-but the character of the plant-the thing described, the variety, is definite, fixed and unchangeable.

In the case of plants of the second class, those which produce a crop and then die, the work of the horticulturist is quite different. True he may in some cases multiply the original plant by division, but this can hardly be profitably practiced since at best each plant so produced perishes after producing a single crop, and in many instances its use necessitates its destruction as a living organism before it has produced a single seed. Here, then, since material increase of the productive powers of the individual is not practical, we are driven to an effort to produce, through seed, new individuals of similar desirable character. As we have said the character of any seedling plant is made up of tendencies received in varying degree from each of its ancestors plus those resulting from environment united in varying proportions and combinations, and the slightest change in any one of these factors may affect the resulting combination and the total result as surely as the slightest change in any ward of a key may affect its power to turn the lock. Now the relative influence of each one of the factors in forming the sum total is unknown and unknowable, so that the only way we have of predetermining the character of a seedling plant is through the securing as far as possible of exact

similarity in all its ancestors, eliminating from the parent plant through isolation or otherwise of every tendency which differs in the slightest degree from the desired type. It is evident that in order to do this there must not only be a very clear conception of the type wanted, but a rigid adherence to that exact type in selection for many generations. In plants of this class the variety consists of all plants which conform to certain type.

Instead of the character of the plant being determined by the variety of which it is a part, as in plants of the first class, the variety to which the plant belongs is determined by the character of the individual plant, and the description of the variety is an exact definition of just what a plant must be to belong to that variety. Such a description is a statement of a conception which may vary with different people or be radically changed from time to time rather than of a statement of the qualities of an existing thing. The exact shape and color of the Baldwin apple, how it differs from the Red Canada is a question of fact, but the exact shape and color of a Crosby Egyptian beet how this sort differs from the Early Blood Turnip is a question of opinion. The existence of varieties in the case of plants propagated by seed depends upon the conception by some one of a certain desirable type and the defining what that type shall be. The conception may or may not have been suggested by some especially fine plant, the definition of what the type shall be may be a mere description of that plant, but the variety consists of plants like the desirable one rather than of parts of the plant itself as is the case of plants propagated by division and the success of the seed grower at least as far as quality of product is concerned, depends upon the clearness of his conception of the exact character of some real ideal plant and rigid adherence to that type in his selection year by year. It may be argued that a formulated and written description is unnecessary because the grower can carry in his mind his conception of what the sort should be, but there would be little probability of close agreement in the conceptions of different growers, and the vast majority of men are quite incapable of carrying an exact mental impression of form and color for many months to say nothing of years.

There are in the

These are the facts: What are the conditions? United States a score or more of growers of Early Minnesota Sweet Corn Seed, but I doubt if any one of them has even put on paper or has in his possession a complete and full description of the exact type of plant he would select for Minnesota Corn, and I am sure that if we were to ask each one of them for a written statement of just what an ideal plant of the variety should be as to height, time of ripening, character of leaf, of tassel, silk, husk, ear, grain, their statements would differ in many particulars, and in many cases such statements made

now, would be quite different from similar ones made by the same man five years ago. You may say that the differences would be in regard to unimportant qualities, but since the slightest change in type in any one ancestor changes the combination of tendencies and in just so far lessens one's ability to predetermine the characters of the plant the seed would produce, there can be no unimportant qualities. It must be remembered that the chief object in seed breeding is uniformity of product, rather than simply superiority. The wise seed breeder aims to develop varieties suited to different conditions and requirements, rather than of a single superlative one, that mythical best sort which the novice is ever asking for, and varieties are best suited to different conditions only as they have definite and distinct qualities. I recently asked the introducer of a certain variety of sweet corn for typical ears of the sort, and received two which differed more in appearance than do those of many sorts which are universally regarded as distinct, but I was assured that they were both very early and of excellent quality, that the differences noticed were unimportant. It is possible they might be, but there is always a co-relation in qualities— and a difference in qualities that can be seen is a certain indication of differences in possibly more important ones that can not be detected by the eye. So much for the importance of clear descriptions to the seed growers. Uniformity and definitness are scarcely less important to the seed dealer. No matter how wisely and earnestly a man may strive to grow his own seeds from his own selected stocks occasional failures are inevitable, and the dealer must secure seed grown by others, and it is evident that in just so far as there is diversity in the ideal of the variety, in just so far is the difficulty of securing the exact type wanted increased, but neither to the seed grower nor the seed dealer are full and complete descriptions so important as they are to the seed planter. The wise selection of the sort best suited to his particular needs is a most important factor of success. Experience, though perhaps the best possible guide, is a costly one, and the planter must in practice depend upon published descriptions of the various sorts for information not only as to their appearance, but as to their adaptation for his particular conditions and requirements. The use of the best sort in existence for the gardener who grows for his own home consumption may result in failure and loss if planted by the man who grows for shipment to distant market.

A sort which will do the best of any when planted on a warm sandy soil may give the poorest return when planted on a cold clay. Are there published descriptions of most garden varieties from which one may learn of their qualities and be guided to a wise selection of the sort best suited for his needs? Seedmen distribute their catalogues by the million, but is there one from which a prospective planter can