Article 13537 of rec.gardens:
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From: Doug.Hemken@launchpad.unc.edu (Doug Hemken)
Subject: history of plant breeding (& George Washington)
Message-ID: <1993Feb10.165202.20453@samba.oit.unc.edu>
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Summary: who can say?
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References: <1993Jan29.072456.16224@times.aux.apple.com> <1993Feb4.163534.26923@bradley.bradley.edu> <1993Feb5.191015.20660@linus.mitre.org>
Date: Wed, 10 Feb 1993 16:52:02 GMT

In article <1993Feb5.191015.20660@linus.mitre.org> lewis@aera8700.mitre.org (Keith Lewis) writes:
>George Washington mentioned in his diary that he was trying to separate the
>male hemp (a.k.a. marijuana) plants from the females. 
>
[deleted stuff]
>
>My question is this:  When did the practice of selective diploid breeding
>(or hybridization) start?  
>

Depends upon what you mean by most of the terms you employ in your question!

"Diploid breeding" -- `diploid' is a modern (Genetics) term for an
organism whose chromosomes pair in a simple way at mitosis & meiosis.  If
you want to be fussy :) you could claim that "diploid breeding" began when
the theory of nucellar inheritance gained dominance over the theory of
cytoplasmic inheritance.  Arguably that was within the last 60-75 years
(see the recent history of thiss debate by Jan Sapp).
	If you are interested in the *practice* of breeding diploids, as
opposed to diploid breeding *theories*, humanity has been making
selections in diploid species since Neolithic times (see the voluminous
anthropological & archeological evidence)!

"Hybridization" -- `hybrid' has two current meanings:  (1) a within
species hybrid, or (2) an inter-species hybrid.  The concept of a
within-species hybrid (e.g. "hybrid" corn) is quite recent, dating to the
1910s & 1920s, and involves mating two genetically unlike parentss (or
parent populations) to produce stable offspring.  The *practice* of
producing F1 hybrids is older than the theory of genetics, i.e. predates
1900 (you'd have to go to primary historical sources to see this).  Both
scientists and farmers produced pre-Genetics hybrids.
	The older meaning of "hybrid" (and still used at times) is a cross
between distinct species.  Theories of the nature of species-hybrids and
their role in "evolution" and "speciation" can be traced back to at least
the early 1700s (see R. Olby 1985, _Origins of Mendelism_ 2nd edition). 
The *practice* of cross-species hybridization goes back at least that far,
too, but probably much further if our old roses are any indication.

"Selection" -- the *practice* of selection goes back to at least Neolithic
times.  What about selection as a theory or strategy for breeding & "plant
improvement"?  The ideas of `like engerders like' and deliberate selection
of a seed parent probably go all the way back into prehistory.  The idea
of "selection" also has a long and complicated history in the scientific
literature and in European "high farming" [upper class estate farming]. 
Darwin based his theory of "natural selection" on an analogy to the
selections that seedsmen and stockmen made in their plants and animals
(see his _Origin of Species_ or _Variation under Domestication_, both
still easily readable).  Agricultural practice became the basis of
biological theory!  Between the time of Darwin (1860s) and the
reinterpretation of Mendel (1900s) "selection" was possibly the epitome of
scientific breeding.  But "selection" as a theory of breeding clearly
predates Darwin, and probably predates the hybridists of the 1700s. 
Moreover, slection was used both by those who believed in the inheritance
of acquired characteristics (incl. Darwin at times) and those who did not.

	So where does George Washington (GW) fit into these theories &
practices?  I don't know the specifics of the story of GW & hemp.  It
would be a mistake to assume that cultural practices with hemp then were
thought of in just the same way they are now.  Was there a theory *in GW's
time* that separating male & female plants could improve fiber quality (or
quantity)?  Or was GW trying to do some selective breeding, based on the
theories of inheritance *of his time*?  GW was an avid experimentalist,
ass were many other gentlemen farmers of his day (Thomas Jefferson being
another famous example) -- there were no research station and professional
scientists then.  It would be really odd if GW were pursuing mid 20th
century goals (sinsemilla) at the end of the 18th c.!

-=> Doug Hemken
--
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