IN THE FLOWER GARDEN 



flower was worthy of cultivation. He carefully 

 saved the seed of this individual, and watched the 

 development of the progeny with solicitude. Most 

 of them were quite odorless. But there were a 

 few that reproduced the fragrance of their parent, 

 and one of these was more distinctly fragrant than 

 the original. 



The seeds of this specimen were saved in turn, 

 and among the plants that grew from them were 

 several that were distinctly fragrant, and, as be- 

 fore, one that conspicuously excelled the others. 

 Indeed, the perfume had now been so accentuated 

 that this individual was as fragrant as could be 

 desired. The plant was propagated by dividing 

 the roots, after the usual method, and soon a com- 

 pany of callas was produced, all of which dupli- 

 cated the qualities of the parent form. This was 

 the flower that was sent out under the name of 

 Fragrance. 



The process of development of the scented calla, 

 then, consisted in raising seedlings from an indi- 

 vidual that showed a trace of perfume and select- 

 ing in turn through successive generations the 

 individual that had inherited this quality in 

 largest measure. 



But the most interesting feature of the experi- 

 ment was the fact that the quality, although not 

 transmitted to most of the progeny, was accentu- 

 ated in the case of the individual to which it was 

 transmitted. 



And this, fortunately, is typical. Wherever a 

 flower shows a peculiarity that differentiates it 



[135] 



