﻿Inconstancy 
  of 
  Improved 
  Races 
  793 
  

  

  to 
  return 
  every 
  year. 
  They 
  are 
  ineradicable. 
  

   Every 
  individual 
  is 
  in 
  the 
  possession 
  of 
  this 
  

   latent 
  quality 
  and 
  liable 
  to 
  convert 
  it 
  into 
  

   activity 
  as 
  soon 
  as 
  the 
  circumstances 
  provoke 
  

   its 
  appearance, 
  as 
  proved 
  by 
  the 
  increase 
  of 
  an- 
  

   nuals 
  in 
  the 
  early 
  sowings. 
  Hence 
  the 
  conclu- 
  

   sion 
  that 
  selection 
  in 
  the 
  long 
  run 
  is 
  not 
  ade- 
  

   quate 
  to 
  deliver 
  plants 
  from 
  injurious 
  qualities. 
  

   Other 
  proofs 
  could 
  be 
  given 
  by 
  other 
  biennials, 
  

   and 
  among 
  them 
  the 
  stray 
  annual 
  plants 
  of 
  

   common 
  carrots 
  are 
  perhaps 
  the 
  most 
  noto- 
  

   rious. 
  In 
  my 
  own 
  cultures 
  of 
  evening-prim- 
  

   roses 
  I 
  have 
  preferred 
  the 
  annuals 
  and 
  ex- 
  

   cluded 
  the 
  biennials, 
  but 
  without 
  being 
  able 
  to 
  

   produce 
  a 
  pure 
  annual 
  race. 
  As 
  soon 
  as 
  cir- 
  

   cumstances 
  are 
  favorable, 
  the 
  biennials 
  return 
  

   in 
  large 
  numbers. 
  Cereals 
  give 
  analogous 
  

   proofs. 
  Summer 
  and 
  winter 
  varieties 
  have 
  

   been 
  cultivated 
  separately 
  for 
  centuries, 
  but 
  in 
  

   trials 
  it 
  is 
  often 
  easy 
  to 
  convert 
  the 
  one 
  into 
  

   the 
  other. 
  No 
  real 
  and 
  definite 
  isolation 
  has 
  

   resulted 
  from 
  the 
  effect 
  of 
  the 
  long 
  continued 
  

   unconscious 
  selection. 
  

  

  Striped 
  flowers, 
  striped 
  fruits, 
  and 
  especially 
  

   striped 
  radishes 
  afford 
  further 
  examples. 
  It 
  

   would 
  be 
  quite 
  superfluous 
  to 
  dwell 
  upon 
  them. 
  

   Selection 
  always 
  tends 
  to 
  exclude 
  the 
  mono- 
  

   chromatic 
  specimens, 
  but 
  does 
  not 
  prevent 
  

   their 
  return 
  in 
  every 
  generation. 
  Numerous 
  

  

  