Monstrosities 415 



individual, and selection requires the compari- 

 son of at least fifty or more individuals. This 

 brings the total amount of specimens to be 

 counted up to some tens of thousands. In prac- 

 tice, where important interests depend upon the 

 experiments, such numbers are usually em- 

 ployed and often exceeded, but for the culture 

 of monstrosities other methods are to be sought 

 in order to avoid these difficulties. 



The idea suggests itself here that the younger 

 the plants are, when showing their distinguish- 

 ing marks, the more of them may be grown on a 

 small space. Hence the best way is to choose 

 such attributes, as may already be seen in the 

 young seedlings, in the very first few weeks of 

 their lives. Fortunately the seed-leaves them- 

 selves afford such distinctive marks, and by this 

 means may be counted in the seedling 

 pans, requiring no culture at all in the gar- 

 den. Only the selected individuals need be 

 grown to ripen their seeds, and the whole selec- 

 tion may be made in the spring, in the glass- 

 house. Instead of being very troublesome, the 

 determination of the hereditary percentages 

 becomes a definite reduction of the size of the 

 experiments. Moreover it may easily be effect- 

 ed by any one who cares for experimental 

 studies, but has not the means required for cul- 

 tures on a larger scale. And lastly, there are 



