LUTHER BURBANK 



given him remarkable new varieties suddenly, 

 after a series of breeding experiments that for 

 a time gave little promise. The ultimate product 

 may differ so widely from the first form as fully 

 to justify reference to it as a "new creation. " 



There is one other important point to be borne 

 in mind in developing a quality through selection 

 in the way just suggested : namely, that you must 

 inbreed the plants that are developing the new 

 quality, once the variation is manifest. 



Suppose, for example, you have found a rasp- 

 berry vine in your garden that bears fruit that 

 is very large and of exceptional sweetness. You 

 wish to accentuate these qualities. Now, instead 

 of cross-fertilizing, you do just the opposite. You 

 take pollen from a flower of your choice vine and 

 carry it to the pistil of another flower on the same 

 vine. Or you bring pollen from a closely related 

 plant of similar qualities. This is called inbreed- 

 ing, or "line breeding." 



You must combine forces, as it were, and ac- 

 centuate the quality that both parents present in 

 exceptional degree. By cross-breeding (say at an 

 earlier stage of the same experiment) you pro- 

 moted variation, and laid the foundation for new 

 varieties. By inbreeding you limit variation, ac- 

 centuate a given quality, and fix a type, turn- 

 ing the forces of the plant in the desired direc- 

 tion. 



One method supplements the other, and Mr. 

 Burbank's most successful experiments in plant 

 development always include both methods. 



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