LUTHER BURBANK 



even chance of producing a single offspring like 

 each grandparent only in each group of more 

 than a million progeny! 



Quantity Production Necessary 

 Such a computation, as made in accordance 

 with the Mendelian formula, in itself serves to 

 supply a ready answer to those Mendelians who 

 have questioned the necessity of making experi- 

 ments on the elaborate scale that I have all along 

 followed out. According to strict Mendelian 

 reasoning, it is clear that we must deal with 

 thousands of seedlings in order to stand a chance 

 of securing a single one that shows a desired 

 combination of qualities, when six or eight qual- 

 ities are in question — and I seldom work with 

 less than twice this number in view. 



And the case is even more complex than this 

 computation would show, because I am always 

 concerned not merely to combine a half dozen or 

 a dozen desirable qualities, but to have a wide 

 range of choice among numerous individuals 

 showing this combination, that one may be found 

 which exhibits the desired qualities in the super- 

 lative degree. 



It is fair to assume, then, that I should never 

 have secured the Burbank Cherry, and following 

 it my newer varieties of cherries that: (1) fruit 

 weeks before the usual cherry season, and 



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