SUMMARY OF THE WORK 321 



of science and the theologist had been fought 

 out, a fuller recognition of the true implications 

 of the doctrine of evolution began to permeate 

 the lower strata of mental life of the generation, 

 and thoughtful minds everywhere were eagerly 

 questioning as to what might be the full truth 

 and the final status of the evolutionary theory. 



Into this atmosphere of inquiry and doubt and 

 solicitude came the document from Santa Rosa, 

 conveying a message that made itself heard far 

 beyond the province of the nurseryman. 



Here were presented brief descriptions and 

 photographic illustrations of a large number of 

 new forms of plant life. These new forms were 

 in many cases so strikingly different from the old 

 ones that the least informed man could not fail 

 to note their diversity. Some of them obviously 

 differed as strikingly from their present forms, 

 to all casual inspection, as recognized species 

 hitherto familiar differed from one another. 



In a word, here were illustrations of what 

 appeared to be new species of plants, and these 

 apparently new species were of known origin. 

 They had been developed under the hand of the 

 experimenter through the hybridization of old 

 species, followed by scientific selection of a char- 

 acter having obvious affinity with the operation of 

 natural selection on plants in the state of nature. 



K iiu,. Vol. 8 



