Inconstancy of Improved Races 795 



with the experiments of Nageli, Bonnier and 

 others, each single individual may change its 

 habits and its aspect in response to transplanta- 

 tion. The climate has an exceedingly great in- 

 fluence on each individual, but the continuance 

 of this influence is without permanent result. 



So much concerning ever-sporting varie- 

 ties and double adaptations. We now come to 

 the effects of a continuous selection of simple 

 characters. 



Here the sugar-beets stand preeminent. 

 Since Vilmorin's time they have been selected 

 according to the amount of sugar in their roots, 

 and the result has been the most striking that 

 has ever been attained, if considered from the 

 standpoint of practice. But if critically exam- 

 ined, with no other aim than a scientific appre- 

 ciation of the improvement in comparison with 

 other processes of selection, the support of the 

 evidence for the theory of accumulative influ- 

 ence proves to be very small. 



The amount of sugar is expressed by percent- 

 age-figures. These however, are dependent on 

 various causes, besides the real quantity of su- 

 gar produced. One of these causes is the quan- 

 tity of watery fluid in the tissues, and this in its 

 turn is dependent on the culture in dryer or 

 moister soil, and on the amount of moisture in 

 the air, and the same variety of sugar-beets 



