222 LUTHER BURBANK 



But in any event, once you have singled out 

 a strain of flower that has the tendency to pro- 

 duce extra petals, you will probably find this 

 tendency accentuated, manifesting what I have 

 elsewhere referred to as the momentum of vari- 

 ation, and giving you results that are more and 

 more encouraging each season. 



ASKING Too MUCH 



Should you attempt to produce a double 

 flower coincidently with the attempt to improve 

 the fragrance, color, and size of the same flower, 

 you may presently discover that you are asking 

 rather too much. 



The flowers that improve in odor and 

 color and size may not be the ones that 

 show the increased tendency to doubling of 

 petals. 



In such a case, you may segregate the two 

 groups, and carry forward the two lines of ex- 

 periment coincidently in neighboring plots; and 

 when you have attained a fair measure of suc- 

 cess in giving one race of flowers perfume and 

 color and size, and the other race a double or 

 triple or quadruple row of petals, you may read- 

 ily make a crossbreeding experiment through 

 which you may combine all the desired qualities 

 in a single hybrid offspring. 



