Stability and Real Atavism 183 



cross-fertilization with the other flowers of the 

 same plant, and the results have no scientific 

 value. For anyone who cares to work with 

 the precautions prescribed by science, a wide 

 field is here open for investigation, because old 

 reverted branches may be met with much less 

 rarely than new ones. 



Finally the possibility is always to be con- 

 sidered that the tendency to bud-reversions may 

 be a special feature of some individuals, and 

 may not be met with in others of the same 

 variety. I have spoken of this before. For the 

 practical' student it indicates that a specimen, 

 once observed to produce atavistic buds, may be 

 expected to do the same thing again. And then 

 there is a very good chance that by combining 

 this view with the idea that dormant buds are 

 more apt to revert than young ones, we may get 

 at a method for further investigation, if we re- 

 cur to the practice of pruning. By cutting 

 away the young twigs in the vicinity of dormant 

 buds, we may incite these to action. Evidently 

 we are not to expect that in so doing they will 

 all become atavistic. For this result is not at 

 all assured; on the contrary, all that we might 

 hope to attain would be the possibility of some 

 of them being induced to sport in the desired 

 direction. 



Many questions in scientific research can only 



