410 THE SURVIVAL OP THE UNLIKE, [XXV. 



sweet fruit would not likely result from the amal- 

 gamation of the Chilian with the little acid fruit of 

 the other. On the other hand, there is not a charac- 

 ter of the Virginian, so far as I know — save possibly 

 some thinness of leaf — which appears in the Pine. 

 The slender, erect habit, smooth stems, profusion of 

 early runners, comparatively simple and very weak- 

 rayed trusses, the small calyx, the early, light colored, 

 pitted fruit, — none of these marks of the Virginian 

 strawberry appear in the Pine. Again (b) , it is now 

 known that one of the most characteristic marks of 

 hybrids is their variability when propagated from 

 seeds ; and yet Phillip Miller declares that the old 

 Pine strawberry came true to seed ! A hybrid left 

 to itself almost invariably departs from its mongrel 

 type and reverts to one or the other parent ; and yet 

 here is a supposed hybrid which has held its attributes 

 intact for one hundred and fifty jears, and has pre- 

 sented a sufficiently unbroken front to overcome all 

 competitors.* There is not only no evidence in favor 

 of a hybrid origin, but there is very much against it; 

 and I have no hesitation in discarding the hypothesis 

 in favor of a simpler and more philosophical one. 



2. Is the Pine strawberry a direct development oj 

 the Chilian strawberry f Every feature of the Pine 

 strawberry suggests the Chilian species. It differs 

 chiefly in its greater size and sometimes by a slight 

 loss of hairiness, but the relative sizes of the parts 

 remain much the same as in the wild type. It is now 

 well known that variation induced by changed con- 

 ditions of life, and augmented by subsequent selection. 



*Por a general discussion of the theory of hybridity, consult Bailey, Plaut- 

 Breedine. Lecture II. 



