THE BREEDING OF MEN 



cation of more or less serious import. Mr. Bur- 

 bank would not expect to improve a race of plants 

 by introducing stock of an inferior type. As a 

 general proposition, that seems axiomatic. But, 

 on the other hand, it must be recalled that Mr. 

 Burbank frequently finds it necessary to utilize a 

 stock that is in many ways inferior, in order to 

 take advantage of some one desirable quality of 

 that stock. 



A case in point is furnished by the new races 

 of wonderful stoneless plums which Mr. Burbank 

 developed by breeding from an originally wild 

 plum of Europe which was small in size, and so 

 acrid as to be practically inedible, but which had 

 the essential quality of bearing a kernel with only 

 a remnant of a stone. 



This might very justly be regarded as an ab- 

 normal plum, and as a very perverted or retro- 

 gressive and altogether worthless example of its 

 tribe. Yet its one quality of stonelessness in it- 

 self an abnormality from the standpoint of plant 

 economy was so important that the strains of 

 this little plum have been combined with those of 

 a great variety of the most aristocratic plums in 

 Mr. Burbank 's orchard. And it has been found 

 possible to breed into the hybrid progeny the good 

 qualities of the aristocratic plums, while retain- 

 ing the quality of stonelessness as the only remi- 

 niscence of the vulgar and perverted ancestor. 



Is it not possible, then, that the immigrants 

 who on the whole seem of undesirable type may 

 have racial characteristics that will advantage- 



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