﻿LECTURE 
  IV 
  

  

  SELECTION 
  OF 
  ELEMENTARY 
  SPECIES 
  

  

  The 
  improvement 
  of 
  cultivated 
  plants 
  must 
  

   obviously 
  begin 
  with 
  already 
  existing 
  forms. 
  

   This 
  is 
  true 
  of 
  old 
  cultivated 
  sorts 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  for 
  

   recent 
  introductions. 
  In 
  either 
  case 
  the 
  start- 
  

   ing-point 
  is 
  as 
  important 
  as 
  the 
  improvement, 
  

   or 
  rather 
  the 
  results 
  depend 
  in 
  a 
  far 
  higher 
  de- 
  

   gree 
  on 
  the 
  adequate 
  choice 
  of 
  the 
  initial 
  ma- 
  

   terial 
  than 
  on 
  the 
  methodical 
  and 
  careful 
  treat- 
  

   ment 
  of 
  the 
  chosen 
  varieties. 
  This 
  however, 
  

   has 
  not 
  always 
  been 
  appreciated 
  as 
  it 
  deserves, 
  

   nor 
  is 
  its 
  importance 
  at 
  present 
  universally 
  

   recognized. 
  The 
  method 
  of 
  selecting 
  plants 
  for 
  

   the 
  improvement 
  of 
  the 
  race 
  was 
  discovered 
  by 
  

   Louis 
  Vilmorin 
  about 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  the 
  last 
  

   century. 
  Before 
  his 
  time 
  selection 
  was 
  ap- 
  

   plied 
  to 
  domestic 
  animals, 
  but 
  Vilmorin 
  was 
  the 
  

   first 
  to 
  apply 
  this 
  principle 
  to 
  plants. 
  As 
  is 
  

   well 
  known, 
  he 
  used 
  this 
  method 
  to 
  increase 
  

   the 
  amount 
  of 
  sugar 
  in 
  beets 
  and 
  thus 
  to 
  raise 
  

   their 
  value 
  as 
  forage-crops, 
  with 
  such 
  success, 
  

   that 
  his 
  plants 
  have 
  since 
  been 
  used 
  for 
  the 
  pro- 
  

  

  92 
  

  

  