PATIENCE REWARDED 279 



had given a clear view of the range of variation 

 of plants both under natural conditions and 

 under cultivation. And it may be taken as ade- 

 quate proof of confidence that I purchased 

 experiment farms and sent far and wide for 

 hybridizing material at the very earliest moment 

 when my financial conditions made such action 

 possible. 



Nor should it be understood that I had by any 

 means entirely neglected experimental tests dur- 

 ing all the period of my nursery experience. On 

 the contrary, I had at all stages of this experi- 

 ence devoted as much time as could be spared to 

 tests in cross-fertilizing and in selection among 

 the various nursery products. These had served 

 to give an expert knowledge of the results that 

 might be expected from plant improvement. 

 Tentative results had been attained that gave 

 support to the most sanguine expectations. 



Orchard and Garden Materials 



Indeed, it was largely as the result of these 

 experiments in selection that my nursery or- 

 chards had come to be of such quality as to com- 

 mand the attention of an ever- widening circle of 

 fruit growers. 



A very wide range of fruit-bearing, orna- 

 mental, and flowering plants were grown, and 



