THE FLOWER 249 



and the same plant never produce two absolutely 

 similar plants ; differences invariably appear. If these 

 plants be left to grow and reproduce themselves, their 

 differences will soon vanish owing to cross-fertilisation, 

 and a permanent, mean, typical form will be produced. 

 Quite a different result will be obtained if a form 

 distinct from others in some point or other be removed 

 and isolated ; its peculiarities will in most cases pass to 

 its posterity. If in the new generation we again isolate 

 the specimens which have attracted our attention by a 

 striking peculiarity, we shall emphasise the peculiarity 

 in every generation, and eventually fix it. This is the 

 method of selection. 



In horticulture this method of selection is often 

 applied in the simplest and at the same time most 

 effective way. It consists in the destruction in every 

 generation of all the plants that fail to answer the 

 purpose in view. By repeating this operation of selec- 

 tion in every subsequent generation, and so strengthen- 

 ing minute and scarcely noticeable characters of the 

 plant, man seems to cast it in a new mould, feature by 

 feature, and to realise an anticipated ideal. It is worth 

 noticing that, while thus breeding plants and animals, 

 man has applied this principle of selection to himself as 

 well, although unhappily only in the reverse order. 

 For ages he has generally chosen the best representatives 

 of his own kind from the physical point of view and 

 condemned them to certain death. This experiment 

 with humanity proves, though of course in the negative 

 direction, the success of the principle of selection. Such 

 was, for instance, one of the results of Napoleon's work. 

 His endless wars have resulted in the decrease of the 

 average stature in France. 



Thus the principle of selection affords man a powerful 

 means for improving organisms, for perfecting them, and 

 the simplest application of this principle consists in the 

 extermination of organisms that do not correspond to 



