816 Fluctuations 



or to a less prominent character combined with 

 an extreme subordinate deviation. 



Hence it is manifest that even the results 

 of such a highly improved technical method do 

 not deserve the confidence usually put in them. 

 They are open to doubt, and the highest figures 

 do not really indicate the best representatives 

 of the race. In order to convey this conception 

 to you in a still stronger manner, let us consider 

 the partial variability as it usually shows itself. 

 The various leaves of a plant may noticeably 

 vary in size, the flowers in color, the fruits in 

 flavor. They fluctuate around an average, which 

 is assumed to represent the approximate value 

 of the whole plant. But if we were allowed to 

 measure only one leaf, or to estimate only one 

 flower or fruit, and be compelled to conclude 

 from it the worth of the whole plant, what mis- 

 takes we could make! We might indeed hit 

 upon an average case, but we might as easily 

 get an extreme, either in the way of increase 

 or of decrease. In both cases our judgment 

 would be badly founded. Now who can 

 assure us that the single root of a given 

 beet is an average representative of the partial 

 variability? The fact that there is only one 

 main root does not prove anything. An annual 

 plant has only one stem, but a perennial species 

 has many. The average height of the last is a 



