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  Ever-sporting 
  Varieties 
  

  

  their 
  seedlings 
  some 
  fifty 
  or 
  a 
  hundred 
  of 
  the 
  

   best 
  ones 
  are 
  chosen 
  to 
  furnish 
  the 
  seeds 
  for 
  the 
  

   next 
  generation. 
  

  

  This 
  description 
  of 
  the 
  method 
  shows 
  that 
  

   the 
  selection 
  is 
  a 
  double 
  one. 
  The 
  first 
  feature 
  

   is 
  the 
  hereditary 
  percentage. 
  But 
  then 
  not 
  all 
  

   the 
  seedlings 
  of 
  the 
  selected 
  parents 
  can 
  be 
  

   planted 
  out, 
  and 
  a 
  choice 
  has 
  to 
  be 
  made. 
  This 
  

   second 
  selection 
  may 
  favor 
  the 
  finest 
  tricotyls, 
  

   or 
  the 
  strongest 
  individuals, 
  or 
  rely 
  on 
  some 
  

   other 
  character, 
  but 
  is 
  unavoidable. 
  

  

  We 
  now 
  come 
  to 
  the 
  description 
  of 
  the 
  cul- 
  

   tures. 
  Starting 
  points 
  are 
  the 
  stray 
  tricotyls 
  

   which 
  are 
  occasionally 
  found 
  in 
  ordinary 
  

   sowings. 
  In 
  order 
  to 
  increase 
  the 
  chance 
  of 
  

   finding 
  them, 
  thousands 
  of 
  seeds 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  

   species 
  must 
  be 
  inspected, 
  and 
  the 
  range 
  of 
  

   species 
  must 
  be 
  widened 
  as 
  much 
  as 
  possible. 
  

  

  Material 
  for 
  beginning 
  such 
  experiments 
  is 
  

   very 
  easily 
  obtained, 
  and 
  almost 
  any 
  large 
  

   sample 
  of 
  seeds 
  will 
  be 
  found 
  suitable. 
  Some 
  

   tricotyls 
  may 
  be 
  found 
  among 
  every 
  thousand 
  

   seedlings 
  in 
  many 
  species, 
  while 
  in 
  others 
  ten 
  or 
  

   a 
  hundred 
  times 
  as 
  many 
  plants 
  must 
  be 
  exam- 
  

   ined 
  to 
  secure 
  them, 
  but 
  species 
  with 
  absolutely 
  

   pure 
  dicotylous 
  seeds 
  are 
  very 
  rare. 
  

  

  The 
  second 
  phase 
  of 
  the 
  experiment 
  how- 
  

   ever, 
  is 
  not 
  so 
  promising. 
  Some 
  species 
  are 
  rich, 
  

   and 
  others 
  are 
  poor 
  in 
  this 
  anomaly. 
  This 
  dif- 
  

  

  