292 LUTHER BURBANK 



limiting those experiments to such a small per- 

 centage that the mass of the race remains un- 

 changed — its characteristics preserved — its gen- 

 eral tendencies unaffected. 



The California poppy, as it grows wild, is a 

 rich golden yellow. In spite of individual dif- 

 ferences, this color is the general characteristic 

 of the kind. It is a fixed characteristic, dating 

 back at least to the time when California, because 

 of the poppy-covered hills, received its name — 

 the land of fire — from the early Spanish navi- 

 gators that ventured up and down the coast. 



Out of the billions of wild poppies that have 

 grown, each million has no doubt contained its 

 freaks or its "sports" — its few experimental in- 

 dividuals which nature has given the tendency to 

 break away from the characteristics of their 

 fellows. 



Yet in the history of the California poppy 

 family, as far back as we can trace, none of these 

 freaks or "sports" has ever achieved its object. 



Among the "sports" which we found in the 

 million poppies was one with a slight streak of 

 crimson on one petal ; one or two with a tendency 

 toward white and one with a lemon-yellow 

 color. 



Without the intervention of man, these freaks 

 quite likely would have perished without off- 



