Production of Double Flowers 501 



was to be gathered, nearly the whole remaining 

 culture was exterminated, excepting only some 

 of the best examples, in order to have the re- 

 quired material for cross-pollination by insects. 

 Each new generation was thereby as sharply 

 selected as possible with regard to both parents. 

 All flower-heads were of course closely in- 

 spected. Not the slightest indication of real 

 doubling was discovered, even in the summer of 

 1899 in the fourth generation of my selected 

 race. But among the best the new character 

 suddenly made its appearance. It was at the 

 commencement of September (1899), too late 

 to admit of the seeds ripening before win- 

 ter. An inspection of the younger heads 

 was made, which revealed three heads 

 with some few rays in the midst of the disk on 

 one plant, the result of the efforts of four years. 

 Had the germ of the mutation lain hidden 

 through all this time? Had it been pres- 

 ent, though dormant in the original sample 

 of seed 1 Or had an entirely new creation taken 

 place during my continuous endeavors! Per- 

 haps as their more or less immediate re- 

 sult ? It is obviously impossible to answer these 

 questions, before further and similar experi- 

 ments shall have been performed, bringing to 

 light other details that will enable us to reach a 

 more definite conclusion. 



