LECTUEE XXVI 



ASEXUAL MULTIPLICATION OF EXTREMES 



Fluctuating variability may be regarded from 

 two different points of view. The multiformity 

 of a bed of flowers is often a desirable feature, 

 and all means which widen the range of fluctua- 

 tion are therefore used to enhance this feature, 

 and variability affords specimens, which sur- 

 pass the average, by yielding a better or larger 

 product. 



In the case of fruits and other cultivated 

 forms, it is of course profitable to propagate 

 from the better specimens only, and if possible 

 only from the very best. Obviously the best are 

 the extremes of the whole range of diverging 

 forms, and moreover the extremes on one side of 

 the group. Almost always the best for practical 

 purposes is that in which some quality is 

 strengthened. Cases occur however, in which 

 it is desirable to diminish an injurious pecul- 

 iarity as far as possible, and in these instances 

 the opposite extreme is the most profitable one. 



These considerations lead us to a discussion 



742 



