68 LUTHER BURBANK 



as to the various results of hybridizing species 

 more or less closely related that have been de- 

 tailed in the preceding chapters. 



To some readers the entire illustration of the 

 elfin architects may seem whimsical. But it is 

 presented in all seriousness in the hope that it 

 may serve a useful purpose. Not that I would 

 for a moment be understood as suggesting that 

 any such infinitesimal creatures with human in- 

 telligence are really domiciled in the germ cell. 

 But to personify thus the inscrutable forces 

 through which the building together of the 

 hereditary factors is brought about may serve to 

 give tangibility to the forces of heredity, and to 

 help the reader to memorize the facts already 

 presented, and gain clearer insight into the prin- 

 ciples that underlie them. 



It may chance that such a personification will 

 enable the plant developer to see a little more 

 clearly into the nature of the phenomena that are 

 presented before his eyes when two plants are 

 hybridized; and that he may thus be enabled to 

 interpret the phenomena in a way that will be to 

 his practical benefit. As elsewhere pointed out, 

 the incorrect interpretation of the early results of 

 a hybridizing experiment may put the experi- 

 menter off the track and lead him to give up 

 an effort which would have led to complete 



