NEW CREATIONS IN PLANT LIFE 



as these Mr. Burbank makes a very careful 

 study, supplementing Nature where necessary, 

 tenderly outwitting her, if needs be. Some- 

 times he cuts away the petals, stamens and 

 sepals entirely, so as to form an unattractive 

 and inhospitable place for the insects in order 

 that they may be kept out entirely. Strategem 

 plays no unimportant part in this work. Now 

 and again in order to produce a given result, 

 fully nine -tenths of the flower buds will be 

 cut away in order to force the other one -tenth 

 to produce a stronger development. 



But Mr. Burbank does not recommend any 

 difficult problems for the amateur; rather, he 

 insists on the very simplest ones to begin with. 

 He places confidence, the confidence which 

 comes from having accomplished something, 

 as the initial essential. Failure, he says, leads 

 to disappointment, and disappointment to 

 discouragement, and discouragement is own 

 cousin to despair. So he says: Confidence 

 born of success is imperative in amateur plant- 

 breeding. 



And to this end he urges taking up a single 

 flower to begin with, never a composite one. 

 He recommends for crossing, the sweet peas, 



234 



