﻿Artificial 
  and 
  Natural 
  Selection 
  821 
  

  

  their 
  extremes 
  were 
  in 
  each 
  case 
  far 
  better 
  con- 
  

   stituted 
  than 
  the 
  average 
  of 
  the 
  chosen 
  type. 
  

   Hence, 
  for 
  selection 
  purposes, 
  the 
  atavists 
  must 
  

   be 
  considered 
  to 
  be 
  in 
  no 
  way 
  inferior 
  to 
  the 
  

   typical 
  specimens. 
  

  

  If 
  it 
  had 
  been 
  possible 
  to 
  apply 
  this 
  principle 
  

   to 
  twisted 
  and 
  fasciated 
  plants, 
  and 
  perhaps 
  

   even 
  to 
  other 
  monstrosities, 
  I 
  think 
  that 
  it 
  will 
  

   readily 
  be 
  granted 
  that 
  the 
  chance 
  of 
  bringing 
  

   even 
  these 
  races 
  up 
  to 
  a 
  percentage 
  of 
  90$ 
  

   would 
  have 
  been 
  large 
  enough. 
  But 
  the 
  large 
  

   size 
  of 
  the 
  cultures 
  required 
  for 
  the 
  counting 
  of 
  

   numerous 
  groups 
  of 
  offspring 
  in 
  the 
  adult 
  state 
  

   has 
  deterred 
  me 
  from 
  making 
  such 
  trials. 
  Ee- 
  

   cently 
  however, 
  I 
  have 
  discovered 
  a 
  species, 
  

   Viscaria 
  oculata 
  which 
  allows 
  of 
  counting 
  

   twisted 
  specimens 
  in 
  the 
  pans, 
  and 
  I 
  may 
  soon 
  

   be 
  able 
  to 
  obtain 
  proofs 
  of 
  this 
  assertion. 
  The 
  

   validity 
  of 
  the 
  hereditary 
  percentage 
  as 
  a 
  stand- 
  

   ard 
  of 
  selection 
  has, 
  within 
  the 
  last 
  few 
  years, 
  

   been 
  recognized 
  and 
  defended 
  by 
  two 
  eminent 
  

   breeders, 
  W. 
  M. 
  Hays 
  in 
  this 
  country 
  and 
  Von 
  

   Lochow 
  in 
  Germany. 
  Both 
  of 
  them 
  have 
  start- 
  

   ed 
  from 
  the 
  experience 
  of 
  breeders 
  of 
  domestic 
  

   animals. 
  Von 
  Lochow 
  applied 
  the 
  principle 
  

   to 
  rye. 
  He 
  first 
  showed 
  how 
  fallacious 
  the 
  

   visible 
  characters 
  often 
  are. 
  For 
  instance 
  

   the 
  size 
  of 
  the 
  kernels 
  is 
  often 
  dependent 
  on 
  

   their 
  number 
  in 
  the 
  head, 
  and 
  if 
  this 
  number 
  is 
  

  

  