ck walnuts; and
Webber and Swingle developed the new fruits called tangerines and
citranges by crossing sweet oranges with carefully selected specimens of
the wild fruit. Experiments last year in blueberry culture developed
luscious berries a half inch in diameter. Possibilities in berry
development are almost unlimited, especially by crossing with hardy wild
varieties.

Peach raisers have two great obstacles to sure success: drought in the
Southwest and frost toward the North. Science is helping them to compete
successfully with the severities of nature. A hardy wild peach has been
found in Northern China and grafting on this stock has produced (this last
year) the hardiest peach in Iowa; while another strain bids fair to meet
the drought-resisting needs of the Southwest fruit grower.

Our agricultural explorers are searching the world for new varieties which
can be used in hybridizing to perfect the American species. For instance,
a wild wheat has been found in Palestine which requires very little
water. So a specialist in acclimatization was sent directly to the slopes
of Mount Hermon to discover its possibilities for American dry farming. If
the plant doctors succeed in developing wheat which can be raised in our
arid wilderness, it would repay a thousand fold the expense of a
round-the-world trip. The possible profits in skillful plant breeding are
almost unlimited. Burbank is quoted as asserting: "The right man under
favorable conditions can make one dollar yield a million dollars in plant
breeding." In 1908 the Minnesota Experiment Station had spent $40,000 in
breeding the cereal grains. The agricultural department is authority for
the opinion that "the increased production is estimated at a thousand
fold, or $40,000,000."[23]

The justly famous navel oranges of California can all be traced to two
scions sent from the U. S. Department of Agriculture some years ago. The
Wealthy apple, which thrives in the cold north better than any other good
variety, goes back to the early struggles of Peter Gideon at Lake
Minnetonka, who faced the Minnesota winter almost penniless, coatless and
with a family dependent upon him; but had faith enough to invest his
hard-earned dollars in selected apple-seed from his far off home in Maine.
The largest single contributor to the wealth produced by scientific
breeding is said to be the Burbank potato. The van-guard of American
experimenters are ranging the world and bringing home lar