418 Ever-sporting Varieties 



their seedlings some fifty or a hundred of the 

 best ones are chosen to furnish the seeds for the 

 next generation. 



This description of the method shows that 

 the selection is a double one. The first feature 

 is the hereditary percentage. But then not all 

 the seedlings of the selected parents can be 

 planted out, and a choice has to be made. This 

 second selection may favor the finest tricotyls, 

 or the strongest individuals, or rely on some 

 other character, but is unavoidable. 



We now come to the description of the cul- 

 tures. Starting points are the stray tricotyls 

 which are occasionally found in ordinary 

 sowings. In order to increase the chance of 

 finding them, thousands of seeds of the same 

 species must be inspected, and the range of 

 species must be widened as much as possible. 



Material for beginning such experiments is 

 very easily obtained, and almost any large 

 sample of seeds will be found suitable. Some 

 tricotyls may be found among every thousand 

 seedlings in many species, while in others ten or 

 a hundred times as many plants must be exam- 

 ined to secure them, but species with absolutely 

 pure dicotylous seeds are very rare. 



The second phase of the experiment how- 

 ever, is not so promising. Some species are rich, 

 and others are poor in this anomaly. This dif- 



