NEW CREATIONS IN PLANT LIFE 



The seeds from the first united flower were 

 not more than six or eight in number. These 

 were sown, and from the plants which grew 

 only the very best and those approaching the 

 ideal were chosen, so that at the second stage 

 of the test there were probably fifty seeds. 

 This, of course, gave a greatly enlarged num- 

 ber in the progression, and soon there were a 

 hundred thousand seeds, all having come from 

 plants which had been selected from their 

 fellows. These hundred thousand seeds were 

 sown in a box of earth about ten feet 

 square, at the home grounds at Santa Rosa. 

 Great precautions have to be taken to prevent 

 the birds and other pests, as gophers, moles, 

 and worms from doing damage, as well as to 

 provide against various plant diseases. One 

 gopher or one flock of thievish birds may 

 undo in an hour the work of years. 



As soon as the plants were large enough to 

 transplant, they were taken up and set out 

 again at Sebastopol on a plot of ground an 

 acre or more in extent. The ground had been 

 the scene of many another wonderful experi- 

 ment; for the earth at Sebastopol is no sooner 

 relieved of one absorbingly interesting test 



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