CHAPTER II 

 THEORIES OF PLANT DEVELOPMENT 



FIRST, last, and all the time Mr. Burbank is 

 a practical plant developer. But it would 

 have been quite out of the question for a 

 man of his energetic and active type of mind to 

 have gone about his experiments without theoriz- 

 ing constantly as to the whys and wherefores of 

 the intricate life forces with which he was dealing. 



In point of fact, it is as natural for Mr. Bur- 

 bank to theorize as it is for him to make practical 

 experiments. His mind is no less incessantly 

 active than his body, and his views on the theories 

 that underlie plant development are as pro- 

 nounced and radical as are his opinions concern- 

 ing practical matters of horticulture and plant 

 management in the fields, regarding which, doubt- 

 less, he has had a larger personal experience than 

 any other man in the world. 



In briefly outlining Mr. Burbank 's attitude to- 

 ward various of the moot points of heredity, it 

 will be convenient to call attention to a few typical 

 instances of his own experiments that give sup- 

 port to his views. 



(1) First as to the broad general question of 

 Darwinian evolution. When a very young man 

 Mr. Burbank read with avidity Darwin's then re- 



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