THE TOMATO 159 



of an incandescent light bulb was comparable, 

 in a general way, to the problem of producing 

 a canning pea of just the right size and 

 quality. 



But, on the other hand, a long list might be 

 cited of inventions and discoveries of vast impor- 

 tance that were matters of accident. Perkins's 

 discovery cf the aniline dye; Nobel's discovery of 

 nitroglycerine; Rontgen's discovery of the X- 

 ray; Becquerel's discovery of radio activity — 

 these are instances where a man found something 

 for which he was not specifically looking. Of 

 course he had to be in line of discovery. It was 

 essential that he should be handling the right 

 materials, and working in a laboratory having 

 the right accessories, or the discovery could not 

 have been made. Nevertheless, in each case, the 

 discoverer found something for which he was not 

 seeking; his experiments had results that he 

 could not have predetermined. 



And, here again, the analogy with that other 

 type of experimentation through which, for ex- 

 ample, the preserving tomato was developed will 



be obvious. 



Looking for Surprises 



The point to be emphasized is that the plant 

 developer is an inventor who works sometimes 

 according to one method and sometimes accord- 



