A BACKWARD GLANCE 291 



A few thousand of the wild golden-yellow 

 poppies such as cover California's hills were 

 examined. 



The individuals of these resembled one another 

 as closely as one rose resembles another rose on 

 the same bush, or as one grape resembles another 

 on the same bunch, as one pea resembles another 

 in the same pod. 



Yet among those million poppies — all looking 

 alike to the unpracticed eye — there could be 

 found by a close observer nearly as many indi- 

 vidual differences as could be found among as 

 many human beings. 



Among those million poppies, each with its 

 distinct individuality, one was found which had 

 a slight tendency to break away from the Cali- 

 fornia poppy family and start a separate race 

 of its own. 



This same tendency could be observed among 

 a million men, a million roses, a million peas, a 

 million quartz crystals, or a million of any of 

 nature's creations. 



Those one, or two, or three out of every million 

 with tendencies to break away are sometimes 

 called the freaks or "sports" of the species. 



It seems as though nature, never quite satis- 

 fied with her creations, is always experimenting, 

 with the hope of creating a better result — yet 



