LUTHER BURBANK 



the flower was white with black center ; the white 

 extending just over the outer edge of the poppy, 

 the rest of the backs of the petals remaining 

 crimson. 



CHANGING A LEAP 



It is not the' blossom alone that may thus be 

 modified by selective breeding. Other parts of 

 the plant may be similarly transformed. A strik- 

 ing illustration of this is furnished by a leaf 

 modification that Mr. Burbank brought about in 

 the case of the California plant sometimes called 

 "wild geranium," known to the botanist as 

 heuchera. 



This plant usually has a fairly smooth leaf 

 with an indented edge, not unlike that of the 

 ordinary cultivated geranium. But Mr. Burbank 

 once chanced upon a specimen growing wild that 

 showed a tendency to crinkling of the edge of the 

 leaf. 



He transferred this plant to his garden, saved 

 its seed, and searched among the progeny for an 

 individual that reproduced the anomaly of leaf 

 formation. As expected, some individuals were 

 found that not only reproduced but accentuated 

 the anomaly. And in succeeding generations in- 

 dividuals appeared in which the peculiarity was 

 so accentuated that ultimately the leaf became 

 crinkled and crenated over practically its entire 

 surface, losing all resemblance to the normal form 

 and appearance. 



The plant that showed this peculiarity resem- 

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