ON ADAPTATION 
dominating type of man—not a repulsive man by 
any means, but lacking, a little, in refinement and 
the more delicate sensibilities. 
“The other banker was a highly sensitive, 
nervous, shrinking man with a great eye for detail, 
a true appreciation of values, a man who looked 
beneath the surface of things and saw beauty in 
hidden truths, a man who thought much and said 
little. 
“These men were great rivals in their daffodil- 
and narcissus-growing pastime, and each of them 
succeeded in producing some wonderful variations 
and adaptations in their plants. 
“When these bankers died, their daffodil and 
narcissus bulbs were offered for sale and fell into 
the hands of a friend of mine, Peter Barr, a great 
bulb expert of England. 
“Peter Barr told me that though the bulbs 
bought from those two estates were mixed and 
planted indiscriminately on his proving grounds, 
he could go through a field of those daffodils and 
narcissuses and, simply by the blossoms, tell which 
had come from one estate and which from the 
other. 
“The flowers that came from the bulbs that 
represented the work of the first banker were 
large, coarse, brightly colored, virile, strong 
flowers—with a beauty that called to the passer-by 
[131] 
