﻿28 
  Descent 
  

  

  myself 
  to 
  direct 
  field 
  observations, 
  and 
  to 
  tests 
  

   of 
  seed, 
  collected 
  from 
  the 
  wild 
  plants 
  in 
  their 
  

   native 
  locality. 
  Obviously 
  the 
  mutations 
  are 
  

   decided 
  within 
  the 
  seed, 
  and 
  the 
  culture 
  of 
  

   young 
  plants 
  from 
  them 
  had 
  no 
  other 
  aim 
  than 
  

   that 
  of 
  ascertaining 
  what 
  had 
  occurred 
  in 
  the 
  

   field. 
  And 
  then 
  the 
  many 
  chances 
  of 
  destruc- 
  

   tion 
  that 
  threaten 
  young 
  plants 
  in 
  a 
  wild 
  state, 
  

   could 
  be 
  avoided 
  in 
  the 
  garden, 
  where 
  enviro- 
  

   mental 
  factors 
  can 
  be 
  controlled. 
  

  

  My 
  second 
  line 
  of 
  inquiry 
  was 
  an 
  experi- 
  

   mental 
  repetition 
  of 
  the 
  phenomena 
  which 
  were 
  

   only 
  partly 
  discerned 
  at 
  the 
  native 
  locality. 
  It 
  

   was 
  not 
  my 
  aim 
  to 
  intrude 
  into 
  the 
  process, 
  nor 
  

   to 
  try 
  to 
  bring 
  out 
  new 
  features. 
  My 
  only 
  ob- 
  

   ject 
  was 
  to 
  submit 
  to 
  the 
  precepts 
  just 
  given 
  

   concerning 
  pure 
  treatment, 
  individual 
  seed- 
  

   gathering, 
  exclusion 
  of 
  crosses 
  and 
  accurate 
  

   recording 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  facts. 
  The 
  result 
  has 
  been 
  

   a 
  pedigree 
  which 
  now 
  permits 
  of 
  stating 
  the 
  re- 
  

   lation 
  between 
  all 
  the 
  descendants 
  of 
  my 
  orig- 
  

   inal 
  introduced 
  plant. 
  This 
  pedigree 
  at 
  once 
  

   exhibits 
  the 
  laws 
  followed 
  by 
  the 
  mutating 
  spe- 
  

   cies. 
  The 
  main 
  fact 
  is, 
  that 
  it 
  does 
  not 
  change 
  

   itself 
  gradually, 
  but 
  remains 
  unaffected 
  during 
  

   all 
  succeeding 
  generations. 
  It 
  only 
  throws 
  off 
  

   new 
  forms, 
  which 
  are 
  sharply 
  contrasted 
  with 
  

   the 
  parent, 
  and 
  which 
  are 
  from 
  the 
  very 
  begin- 
  

   ning 
  as 
  perfect 
  and 
  as 
  constant, 
  as 
  narrowly 
  

  

  