132 LUTHER BURBANK 



And, reverting to the cases in hand, there is 

 no better illustration of the truth of this propo- 

 sition than that furnished by the new cherries 

 which present, in a single individual, ten or a 

 dozen clearly definable qualities that have been 

 sorted out and brought together from the com- 

 mingling of widely divergent ancestral strains. 



The traits that were developed through 

 response to the environment in widely scattered 

 geographical territories and through hundreds 

 of generations, have been brought together, in 

 combinations never hitherto presented; with the 

 result that my early-bearing, large-sized, bright- 

 colored, and highly flavored cherries constitute 

 essentially a new variety of fruit, while at the 

 same time they evidence with full force the all- 

 compassing influence of the laws of heredity. 



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 qualities are in 

 question and I seldom work with 

 less in view. 



