Talk:David Fairchild

horseradish
I don't know whether it is vandalism or ignorance that underlies the claim Fairchild introduced horseradish to the U.S., but it is simply not true. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable about the other plants mentioned in the lede, will take a look at whether Fairchild introduced any of the plants mentioned there.

Before Fairchild was even born, horseradish was grown commercially in the St. Louis area, principally in and around Collinsville, across the river from the city of St. Louis. Doubtless it also had been grown in the U.S. much earlier than that. See the Wikipedia article on horseradish, and/or one of its references: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/2003-10-01/Horseradish.aspx. Publius3 (talk) 01:41, 26 September 2008 (UTC)

alfalfa
The lede also said Fairchild introduced alfalfa into the U.S. This is not true. Alfalfa was grown in Oklahoma by 1850. See for instance http://alfalfa.okstate.edu/webnews/mar0697.htm. Publius3 (talk) 02:24, 26 September 2008 (UTC)

too hasty?
I see now that I may have overlooked the intended meaning of the lede, while reading it somewhat hastily. Perhaps the intended meaning is that Fairchild introduced some particular variety of horseradish, or of alfalfa, into the U.S. If so, perhaps someone who knows the subject matter will reword the lede to distinguish between plants he introduced, and _new_varieties_of_plants_ he introduced.

In support of any such assertions, references would be helpful. Publius3 (talk) 02:33, 26 September 2008 (UTC)

plant introduction
Publius3 - I see you have an interest in exactly what plants Fairchild introduced. That's great! The problem is that it is complicated. There may have been five varieties of wheat growing here. His guys brought back an additional fifteen varieties. Two of them caught on and now represent 40% of the current crop. I just made up these numbers, but you get the idea. I will make an effort to document this article better with verifiable references. GroveGuy (talk) 06:47, 26 September 2008 (UTC)

I agree Fairchild's plant introductions are not adequately described. To accommodate more detail, I added a section "Plant introductions". Being familiar with cotton, I added a description for that introduction. Roughly 160 words. For those of you familiar with his other introductions, please add your own descriptions.Condensinguponitself (talk) 19:26, 14 September 2020 (UTC)

Assessment comment
Substituted at 12:56, 29 April 2016 (UTC)

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