110 Selection Does Not Lead to Origin of Species. 



their methods, so far as the space at my disposal al- 

 lows. 



Hallett^ grew his pedigree stock under the most 

 favorable circumstances possible because he was con- 

 vinced that manuring, open position and generally favor- 

 able conditions of life call forth the 

 variations desired. To start a culture 

 of tliis kind he sought, in the best field 

 of the kind of wheat in question, for 

 the best ear he could find and sowed its 

 seeds in good garden soil as early as 

 possible, allowing plenty of space be- 

 tween the plants. These produced strong 

 richly branched plants with about 100 

 stems and about 3000 grains per plant 



and on the average about 100 grains per 



Fisf. 2?. Scheme to a-i • ^ r i 



show the relation ^^^'' ^ ^^^^ extraordmary advance is ne- 



between the se- cessary for the improvement of the 



lected stock and . . . ■ r ^ 



the so-called com- race, but it IS obviously lost if the new 



mercial stock. j. -g orrown in the field under normal 

 The contmuous ^ 



line (E-E) indi- circumstances. In the pedigree stock 

 cates the line of , . . , t^ .i • .i i . 



descent of the for- however it persists, hrom this the best 



mer,m successive g^j-g on the best plants were yearly cho- 

 years ; the dotted . ^ -^ •' 



lateral branches sen with the greatest care ; and of these 



rectly or^ in^ the ^^^^^ ^"^ ^"^^ ^^^^ used to supply seed for 



course of a year the continuation of the experiment. As 



or two the com- , - , . . . 



mercial stock,//, a result of this, regular improvements 



took place in the yield and Hallett 



believed that these did not diminish when the plants 



were cultivated in the field. 



There is no question that improvement takes place 



* Frederic F. Hallett, On Pcdigree-Wheaf as a Mentis of In- 

 creasing Crop. Journal of the Royal Agricul. Soc, Febr. 1862, 



