LUTHER BURBANK 
tendencies which, though perhaps not desirable, 
point the way to an end worthy of accomplishment. 
Then, instead of working with a single wild 
and a single cultivated plant, if we seek out a 
dozen wild plants or a hundred of them—some 
plants from mountain environments and some 
from swamps, some from rich woodland soil, and 
some from the desert, we shall get a still better 
idea of the possibilities stored within the plant— 
possibilities which need only combination and 
selection to bring forth a perfected product. 
Or, suppose we have a tree which bears 
delicious fruit in small quantities. 
Let us then find one with a tendency to over- 
produce, even though its fruit, in size, flavor and 
appearance, be inferior. 
In some combination between the two, simply 
by following the leads which those combinations 
themselves will give, we shall in a few years, very 
likely, discover one variation which combines the 
productiveness of one strain of heredity with the 
deliciousness of another. 
Or, perhaps, we have a plant which bears us — 
berries of wonderful flavor, but too small to be 
marketable. ; 
Let us find a plant with large, beautiful berries, 
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