﻿398 
  Ever-sporting 
  Varieties 
  

  

  The 
  result 
  of 
  my 
  attempt 
  has 
  shown 
  that 
  the 
  

   choice 
  of 
  the 
  seeds 
  has 
  a 
  manifest 
  influence 
  upon 
  

   the 
  ultimate 
  development 
  of 
  the 
  monstrosity, 
  but 
  

   that 
  this 
  influence 
  is 
  not 
  strong 
  enough 
  to 
  over- 
  

   whelm 
  all 
  other 
  factors. 
  

  

  The 
  choice 
  of 
  the 
  fullest 
  or 
  smallest 
  crowns 
  

   may 
  be 
  repeated 
  during 
  succeeding 
  generations, 
  

   and 
  each 
  time 
  compared 
  with 
  a 
  culture 
  under 
  

   average 
  conditions. 
  By 
  this 
  means 
  we 
  come 
  to 
  

   true 
  selection-experiments, 
  and 
  these 
  result 
  in 
  

   a 
  notable 
  and 
  rapid 
  change 
  of 
  the 
  whole 
  strain. 
  

   By 
  selecting 
  the 
  brightest 
  crowns 
  I 
  have 
  come 
  

   up 
  in 
  three 
  years 
  from 
  40 
  to 
  90 
  and 
  ultimately 
  

   to 
  120 
  converted 
  stamens 
  in 
  the 
  best 
  flower 
  of 
  

   my 
  culture, 
  and 
  in 
  selecting 
  the 
  smallest 
  crowns 
  

   I 
  was 
  able 
  in 
  three 
  years 
  to 
  exclude 
  nearly 
  all 
  

   good 
  crowns, 
  and 
  to 
  make 
  cultures 
  in 
  which 
  

   heads 
  with 
  less 
  than 
  half-filled 
  crowns 
  consti- 
  

   tuted 
  the 
  majority. 
  But 
  such 
  selected 
  strains 
  

   always 
  remain 
  very 
  sensitive 
  to 
  treatment, 
  and 
  

   by 
  changing 
  the 
  conditions 
  the 
  effect 
  may 
  be 
  

   wholly 
  lost 
  in 
  a 
  single 
  year, 
  or 
  even 
  turned 
  

   in 
  the 
  contrary 
  direction. 
  In 
  other 
  words, 
  the 
  

   anomaly 
  is 
  more 
  dependent 
  on 
  external 
  condi- 
  

   tions 
  during 
  the 
  germinating 
  period 
  than 
  on 
  the 
  

   choice 
  of 
  the 
  seeds, 
  providing 
  these 
  belong 
  to 
  

   the 
  pistilloid 
  variety 
  and 
  have 
  not 
  deteriorated 
  

   by 
  some 
  crossing 
  with 
  other 
  sorts. 
  

  

  At 
  the 
  beginning 
  of 
  this 
  lecture 
  I 
  stated 
  that 
  

  

  