264 Non-I salable Races. 



of the three plants. We are thus justified in concKuhng 

 that hy the selection of these plants as seed-parents the 

 mean of the race might further be slightly improved 

 during the course of some years, but that these extreme 

 variants afforded no more hope than did the others, of 

 the attainment of the double race. 



Cultivation and selection cooperate in the direction of 

 the desired end; they lead the half race measurably fur- 

 ther on this line, but it is not through them that the 

 object can be attained. The half race remains a half 

 race, in spite of every effort and care, the semi-latent 

 character expresses itself oftener and oftener, but it does 

 not succeed in becoming the equal of the normal active 

 characters, i. e., in constituting the mean character of a 

 new race, independent of the continuance of selection 

 and favorable cultural conditions. 



To arrive at this result a process of an entirely differ- 

 ent nature is evidently required. According to the cur- 

 rent theory of selection the goal would be reached if the 

 experiment could be continued for tens or hundreds of 

 years. But the course of the experiment we have de- 

 scribed does not support this view ; it shows, on the con- 

 trary, that all that can ever be gained by nutrition and 

 selection has already been secured in these five genera- 

 tions. The actual result is the production of an elite 

 race which has a mean number of 9 petals in the flowers, 

 under the favorable conditions of culture which obtained ; 

 and gives rise, according to environmental conditions, on 

 the one hand, to better variants (with a mean of about 

 11-13, or perhaps a few more, petals) while, on the other, 

 it throw^s off atavists with a half Galton curve (see 

 Fig. 52 on page 252). 



It is my opinion, however, that if the culture of the 



