﻿Production 
  of 
  Double 
  Flowers 
  501 
  

  

  was 
  to 
  be 
  gathered, 
  nearly 
  the 
  whole 
  remaining 
  

   culture 
  was 
  exterminated, 
  excepting 
  only 
  some 
  

   of 
  the 
  best 
  examples, 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  have 
  the 
  re- 
  

   quired 
  material 
  for 
  cross-pollination 
  by 
  insects. 
  

   Each 
  new 
  generation 
  was 
  thereby 
  as 
  sharply 
  

   selected 
  as 
  possible 
  with 
  regard 
  to 
  both 
  parents. 
  

   All 
  flower-heads 
  were 
  of 
  course 
  closely 
  in- 
  

   spected. 
  Not 
  the 
  slightest 
  indication 
  of 
  real 
  

   doubling 
  was 
  discovered, 
  even 
  in 
  the 
  summer 
  of 
  

   1899 
  in 
  the 
  fourth 
  generation 
  of 
  my 
  selected 
  

   race. 
  But 
  among 
  the 
  best 
  the 
  new 
  character 
  

   suddenly 
  made 
  its 
  appearance. 
  It 
  was 
  at 
  the 
  

   commencement 
  of 
  September 
  (1899), 
  too 
  late 
  

   to 
  admit 
  of 
  the 
  seeds 
  ripening 
  before 
  win- 
  

   ter. 
  An 
  inspection 
  of 
  the 
  younger 
  heads 
  

   was 
  made, 
  which 
  revealed 
  three 
  heads 
  

   with 
  some 
  few 
  rays 
  in 
  the 
  midst 
  of 
  the 
  disk 
  on 
  

   one 
  plant, 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  the 
  efforts 
  of 
  four 
  years. 
  

   Had 
  the 
  germ 
  of 
  the 
  mutation 
  lain 
  hidden 
  

   through 
  all 
  this 
  time! 
  Had 
  it 
  been 
  pres- 
  

   ent, 
  though 
  dormant 
  in 
  the 
  original 
  sample 
  

   of 
  seed? 
  Or 
  had 
  an 
  entirely 
  new 
  creation 
  taken 
  

   place 
  during 
  my 
  continuous 
  endeavors? 
  Per- 
  

   haps 
  as 
  their 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  immediate 
  re- 
  

   sult 
  ? 
  It 
  is 
  obviously 
  impossible 
  to 
  answer 
  these 
  

   questions, 
  before 
  further 
  and 
  similar 
  experi- 
  

   ments 
  shall 
  have 
  been 
  performed, 
  bringing 
  to 
  

   light 
  other 
  details 
  that 
  will 
  enable 
  us 
  to 
  reach 
  a 
  

   more 
  definite 
  conclusion. 
  

  

  