“Mr. Gideon, of Minnesota, planted many apple seeds, and from them all raised one tree that was very fruitful, finely flavored, and able to withstand the cold Minnesota winter.  This tree he multiplied by grafts and named it the Wealthy apple.  It is said that in this one apple he benefited the world to the value of more than one million dollars.  You must not let any valuable bud or seed variant be lost.” ("Agriculture for Beginners,” page 61.)

“This fact ought to be very helpful to us next year when planting corn.  We should plant seed secured only from stalks that produced the most corn.  If we follow this plan year by year, each acre of land will be made to produce more kernels and hence a larger crop of corn, and yet no more expense will be required to raise the crop.”  (Same, page 71.)

The World’s Work tells how the country got a new industry.

Mr. George Gibbs, of Clearbrook, Wash., has made his “stake” by growing tulip and hyacinth bulbs.  He had a little place on Orcas Island, in Puget Sound.  He did not know anything about growing flowers, but he did know that certain varieties of bulbs brought good prices in the East.  He was observant enough to see that the moist, warm, climate and rich soil of the Puget Sound country were peculiarly favorable to flowers.

He had bad luck with his bulbs; that only meant that he still had something to learn.  He kept his nerve even when he went bankrupt.  His friends told him he was wasting time, but they could not shake his faith.

In twelve years he found that he was right.  His wonderful gardens were making him rich.  Other men have gone into the business, but he was first and has kept his lead.  He has made the Puget Sound country the greatest rival of Holland in the sale of flowering bulbs.

Quantities of wild herbs, fruits, and roots that no one eats are good; the Jesuits had a list of over two hundred kinds that the Indians ate, but it was lost.  Some one can do a great service by making it up again by research and experiment.  Thousands more of the wild things must be good for dyes, fabrics, and fodder.

Fame like Burbank’s and fortune awaits the one who is a good self-advertiser and can find the use of the poetic daisies, goldenrod, and thistle, the all-pervading “pusley,” and such other vegetable vermin.

An interesting experiment is conducted in growing tea with colored child labor, at Tea, South Carolina, by the aid of education and machinery and the cooperation of the Agricultural Department at Washington, who will furnish particulars.  Whatever may be its outcome, this will give an opening to some intelligent cultivators, and it points the way to other fields.

Those who are first in raising new or improved plants find a waiting market for them.