FACT AND THEORY 255 



"That is a Nicotunia, and you are the first man 

 in the world who has ever seen one. It is the 

 name which I have given to a new race of plants 

 produced by crossing the large flowering NicO" 

 tiana, or tobacco plants, with petunias. It is, as 

 you can see, a cross between two genera of the 

 nightshade family." 



"H'm!" said the seedsman. 



You know the secret now, but if you think 

 that you can produce these Nicotunia as you 

 would hybrid petunias, or crossbred primroses, 

 go ahead and try; there is no patent on their 

 manuf actui-e ; but if the five hundredth Cross suc- 

 ceeds, under the best conditions obtainable, you 

 will surely be very successful. I do not fear any 

 immediate competition. 



Perhaps those who have said that species could 

 not be combined with species, or genus with 

 genus, have tried only once or twice or a dozen 

 times. Perhaps patience and persistence as well 

 as a wider knowledge account for some of the 

 upset laws. 



"Why not content ourselves to work within 

 varieties as the bees work?" asks some one. 



Because by going out of the varieties and com- 

 bining, we multiply almost infinitely the com- 

 binations of old heredities which we may bring 

 into play — we lessen the work which we have to 



