THE BREEDING OF MEN 



laws of heredity tKat are of cogent interest to all 

 of us. 



BUEBANK METHODS IN OUTLINE 



In the present chapter I purpose to outline the 

 broader principles of the Burbank methods, with 

 mere suggestions as to their application along 

 various lines that will be given detailed treatment 

 in successive chapters. 



Mr. Burbank himself has very explicitly stated 

 that the essence of his method is rational and per- 

 sistent selection. In a comprehensive experiment 

 in plant development he (1) selects parent forms 

 to be mated, and then (2) selects the best individ- 

 uals among the progeny, and if necessary remates 

 these to bring desired characters into the heredi- 

 tary strain. When the right combinations have 

 been produced, he (3) continues to select the best 

 individuals, generation after generation, now 

 practicing inbreeding instead of cross-breeding 

 that the desired traits may be accentuated by 

 repetition. 



Casual observers of Mr. Burbank 's work have 

 been impressed with the early stages of this line 

 of experimentation, somewhat to the oversight 

 of the later stages. The hybridizing of species 

 brought from widely different regions of the world 

 is a somewhat more spectacular process than the 

 continued inbreeding or "line breeding" of a 

 given race, since the latter process seems to con- 

 sist of nothing more than the selection of the best 

 individual specimens generation after generation. 



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