WHAT SCIENCE DOES FOR MAN

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 6383, 4 December 1907, Page 3

WHAT SCIENCE DOES FOR MAN

"Modern sohoue haw done much to improve tin.* lot *>f man through a letter und' rstunding of life His Ujs(iii.sis are being studied, and as a remit of modern methods' of .sanitation, anti-

< pr-e .surgery, and serum tlurapeuties. many di<e;is-,., that <mce were sc<,urges are now emit roll-<l. A factor in the further betterment of tho condition of man.” writes Professor Harry Snyder ni the Oc‘oh' r “Harper.’' “is the improvement: of has food. . . “Hy careful .-election of the parent stock in plant I)reeding, as hi animal bn (-ding. (erHiin eharactorhitics can be intcuHilhd and more firmly fixed, while ot. cr and less desirable once can in part, be eliminated. “The general principles of heredity formulated by Mendel give nvuch promise in the way of crop improvement through more systematic nu thods of breeding. It is believed by im ny biologists that Meiub-d's law offers in part a solution t<> .-omo of the perplexing problems in plant ami animal improvement. it; js too early, however, to predict. what benefits can reasonably be expehd from its application. This law attempts to reduce to a mathematical basis Pie characteristics of the progeny of plants and animals; a certain ; percentage having the individual characieristics of each parent and a certain perentag* tlm blended characteristic* of both patents, it i« not too muefi to expect that the proposed law with modifications will do much to place tho science of plant breeding upon a rational basis, "In the case of corn, careful selection of r-ced fins rrsuUcd in the production of nlants which have a tendency to produce an additional ear. thereby increasing tho yield 10 to 25 per cent. Also ears of larger size and more uniform eh•>meter are secured by breeding and selecting tho seed corn. One of the best examples of tho improvement of a crop hy selection and breeding is tin* eugar hint, which has been developed from the common stock of garden boot that cont ins only a- small amount of saccharine material and are unsuitable for tho manufacture of sugar, until high-grade beets containing 16 to 18 per cent, of sugar aro flccuml. “As a result of the study of seeds, their requirements arc better known. In many instances the vitality of the crop is uruiocc-sarily lowered through storage of tho seed in poorly ventilated rooms and bins. The life process of tho seed goes on to a certain extent even during storage. There is a slight activity of tho colls, resulting in tho production of carbon dioxide. This might be called vegetable respiration. "When this c*uiseo death and decay ensue. With the seed it is cither a state of life or death. There is no absolutely dormant period in seed life. "While tho selection and breeding of seeds has dono much and is destined to do" more for the improvement of crops, plant breeding alone will not produce the results that can be secured through the judicious feeding of crops coupled with seed improvement. Feeding of crops is too frequently neglected. A larger supply of plant food is the crying need of many softs, and low yields and poor quality of crops are more frequently duo to lack,or food than to any other cause except adverse climatic conditions. Thoro is ft close relationship between soil and crops*. The improvement of tho ono is dependent upon tho upbuilding of tho other."