132 LUTHER OBURBANK 



The reason is that the best new hybrid Opun- 

 tias have been found to be seedless ; or, where the 

 seeds are not entirely eliminated, they are re- 

 duced in size and have lost vitality. In my ex- 

 , ( perience, then, when the fruit of the improved 

 species have ripened and dropped to the ground, 

 under the most favorable possible circumstances, 

 no seedlings have been seen; whereas, when the 

 fruit of the wild ones drops there are abundant 

 seedlings. 



The case is comparable to that of the Shasta 

 daisy, which never spreads from the seed, unlike 

 its wild prototype. When the Shasta was first 

 introduced, one of the Western States passed a 

 law forbidding its growth in the State. At the 

 present time the Shastas are grown by the mil- 

 lions in that State, as well as in all other regions 

 of the world, and no one has ever complained. 



With care in propagating, and reasonable pro- 

 tection, the new spineless Opuntias constitute a 

 race that gives every assurance of permanency. 



Yet it should not be forgotten that this race has 

 been developed under conditions of artificial 

 selection, and may need man's protection while it 

 is establishing itself in any given region. 



The new spineless Opuntias represent a race 

 that has been permitted, through the fostering 

 influence of artificial selection, to develop, not- 



