﻿Artificial 
  and 
  Natural 
  Selection 
  813 
  

  

  nary 
  sowings. 
  Originally 
  he 
  had 
  made 
  his 
  cul- 
  

   tures 
  for 
  the 
  improvement 
  of 
  his 
  own 
  fields 
  only. 
  

   Gradually 
  however, 
  he 
  began 
  to 
  sell 
  his 
  product 
  

   as 
  seed 
  to 
  others, 
  though 
  he 
  found 
  the 
  difference 
  

   still 
  very 
  slight. 
  After 
  ten 
  years 
  more, 
  about 
  

   1886, 
  he 
  was 
  able 
  to 
  sell 
  all 
  his 
  rye 
  as 
  seed, 
  

   thereby 
  making 
  of 
  course 
  large 
  profits. 
  It 
  is 
  

   now 
  acknowledged 
  as 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  best 
  sorts, 
  

   though 
  in 
  his 
  last 
  letter 
  Mr. 
  Eimpau 
  announced 
  

   to 
  me 
  that 
  the 
  profits 
  began 
  to 
  decline 
  as 
  other 
  

   selected 
  varieties 
  of 
  rye 
  became 
  known. 
  The 
  

   limit 
  of 
  productiveness 
  was 
  reached, 
  and 
  to 
  sur- 
  

   mount 
  this, 
  selection 
  had 
  to 
  be 
  begun 
  again 
  

   from 
  some 
  new 
  and 
  better 
  starting 
  point. 
  

  

  This 
  new 
  starting 
  point 
  invokes 
  quite 
  another 
  

   principle 
  of 
  selection, 
  a 
  principle 
  which 
  threat- 
  

   ens 
  to 
  make 
  the 
  contrast 
  between 
  artificial 
  and 
  

   natural 
  selection 
  still 
  greater. 
  In 
  fact 
  it 
  is 
  noth- 
  

   ing 
  new, 
  being 
  in 
  use 
  formerly 
  in 
  the 
  selection 
  

   of 
  domestic 
  animals, 
  and 
  having 
  been 
  applied 
  

   by 
  Vilmorin 
  to 
  his 
  sugar-beets 
  more 
  than 
  half 
  a 
  

   century 
  ago. 
  Why 
  it 
  should 
  ever 
  have 
  been 
  

   overlooked 
  and 
  neglected 
  in 
  the 
  selection 
  of 
  

   sugar-beets 
  now 
  is 
  not 
  clear. 
  

  

  The 
  principle 
  in 
  itself 
  is 
  very 
  simple. 
  It 
  

   agrees 
  that 
  the 
  visible 
  characters 
  of 
  an 
  animal 
  

   or 
  a 
  plant 
  are 
  only 
  an 
  imperfect 
  measure 
  for 
  its 
  

   hereditary 
  qualities, 
  instead 
  of 
  being 
  the 
  real 
  

   criterion 
  to 
  be 
  relied 
  upon, 
  as 
  is 
  the 
  current 
  be- 
  

  

  