ON ADAPTATION 
And almost from the beginning, man_ has 
studied the forces which go into the make-up of 
life without much encouragement, till now these 
ages of contemplation have begun to crystallize 
into thornless cacti, stoneless plums, fragrant calla 
lilies and a thousand other results as definite and 
as practical as the trolley or the telephone or the 
omnipresent touring car. 
Who among us shall say what new plants even 
a decade, now, may bring forth? 
—On and on we go; one step 
backward, sometimes; then two 
steps forward; marking’ time 
awhile; then onward with a spurt. 
