250 LUTHER BURBANK 



doubt of that. A glance showed that a certain 

 proportion were hybrids, and even when they 

 first broke the soil they presented much larger 

 cotyledons of a different color from those of 

 either parent. 



These seedlings were carefully planted in open 

 ground at Sebastopol with some uncrossed seed- 

 lings of the Chinese quince in the same row for 

 comparison, the hybrids, however, being given 

 the choice of soil and location. 



We have previously learned that hybrids usu- 

 ally grow more vigorously than uncrossed seed- 

 lings, but the case of these quinces proved a very 

 notable exception to this rule. At the end of two 

 years the Chinese quinces of pure stock ranged 

 from eight to twelve feet high, while the hybrids, 

 which had been given more room and the best 

 soil, were dwarfs only six inches high, some of 

 them even less. 



The foliage of these curious miniature trees 

 was generally a composite, somewhat suggestive 

 of each parent. But in a few instances plants 

 showed leaves much shorter and more rounded 

 than those of either parent, and having the edges 

 coiled back in a semicircular form. This peculiar 

 coiling of the leaves was probably due to the fact 

 that the midrib was inclined to grow more rapidly 

 than the edges of the leaf. 



