﻿176 
  

  

  INTRODUCTION 
  TO 
  BOTANY 
  

  

  To 
  do 
  successful 
  work 
  in 
  plant 
  breeding, 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  first 
  

   requisites 
  is 
  trained 
  observation 
  - 
  - 
  ability 
  to 
  recognize 
  the 
  ap- 
  

   pearance 
  of 
  any 
  valuable 
  character 
  or 
  group 
  of 
  characters 
  in 
  

   growing 
  plants. 
  A 
  skilled 
  botanist 
  once 
  found 
  twenty-three 
  

   kinds 
  of 
  wheat 
  growing 
  in 
  a 
  field 
  where 
  the 
  grain 
  was 
  sup- 
  

   posed 
  to 
  be 
  all 
  alike. 
  One 
  of 
  these 
  kinds 
  was 
  isolated 
  and 
  

   became 
  the 
  parent 
  of 
  an 
  excellent 
  variety 
  that 
  has 
  been 
  ex- 
  

   tensively 
  cultivated 
  for 
  about 
  a 
  century. 
  

   The 
  Concord 
  grape 
  sprang 
  from 
  a 
  seed- 
  

   ling 
  of 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  common 
  wild 
  grapes 
  of 
  

   New 
  England. 
  Its 
  originator 
  failed 
  to 
  get 
  

   another 
  important 
  new 
  variety 
  from 
  among 
  

   22,000 
  seedlings 
  that 
  grew 
  from 
  Concord 
  

   seeds. 
  One 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  valuable 
  black- 
  

   berries 
  of 
  the 
  low-growing 
  (dewberry) 
  type, 
  

   the 
  Lucretia, 
  is 
  a 
  variety 
  found 
  grow- 
  

   ing 
  wild 
  upon 
  a 
  West 
  Virginia 
  plantation 
  

   during 
  the 
  Civil 
  War. 
  The 
  well-known 
  

   \\Yalthy 
  apple 
  originated 
  as 
  a 
  seedling 
  

   discovered 
  after 
  ten 
  years 
  of 
  seed 
  planting 
  

   and 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  much 
  more 
  than 
  a 
  bushel 
  

   of 
  apple 
  seeds. 
  

  

  167. 
  The 
  perpetuation 
  of 
  desirable 
  varie- 
  

   ties. 
  In 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  shrubs 
  or 
  trees 
  which 
  

   can 
  readily 
  be 
  grafted 
  or 
  budded 
  (sect. 
  87), 
  

   or 
  in 
  plants 
  like 
  the 
  potato, 
  the 
  canna, 
  or 
  

   the 
  gladiolus, 
  which 
  can 
  be 
  propagated 
  by 
  

   tubers 
  and 
  bulbs, 
  it 
  is 
  easy 
  to 
  perpetuate 
  

   any 
  new 
  variety. 
  If 
  it 
  is 
  necessary 
  to 
  reproduce 
  the 
  plant 
  

   by 
  means 
  of 
  seed, 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  found 
  that 
  the 
  desired 
  variety 
  

   always 
  " 
  comes 
  true 
  " 
  ; 
  that 
  is, 
  reproduces 
  itself 
  with 
  little 
  

   or 
  no 
  perceptible 
  change, 
  as 
  is 
  the 
  case 
  with 
  the 
  established 
  

   varieties 
  of 
  the 
  grains 
  (sect. 
  171). 
  On 
  the 
  other 
  hand, 
  the 
  

   plants 
  may 
  tend 
  to 
  " 
  run 
  out"; 
  that 
  is, 
  to 
  revert 
  to 
  the 
  aver- 
  

   age 
  original 
  type 
  from 
  which 
  the 
  selected 
  variations 
  have 
  

   been 
  developed. 
  Sugar 
  beets 
  are 
  particularly 
  troublesome 
  

  

  FIG. 
  154. 
  Effect 
  of 
  

  

  cultivation 
  on 
  the 
  

  

  parsnip 
  

  

  The 
  parsnip 
  at 
  the 
  

   left 
  is 
  a 
  cultivated 
  

   one 
  ; 
  that 
  at 
  the 
  right, 
  

   a 
  wild 
  one 
  at 
  the 
  end 
  

   of 
  the 
  first 
  season's 
  

   growth. 
  One 
  eighth 
  

   natural 
  size 
  

  

  