LUTHER BURBANK 



plants would, on the average, tend to manifest 

 exceptional hardiness; and by successive selection 

 through many generations it would thus be pos- 

 sible, without question, to modify the sensitiveness 

 of the apricot blossom in such a way as to adapt 

 it for cultivation far beyond the limits of its 

 present range. 



Of course such selective breeding would be 

 subject to the usual difficulties and complications 

 that attend the development of any new or ex- 

 ceptional quality in an orchard fruit. 



Here, as elsewhere, there are complications due 

 to the fact that the fruit will not grow true to type 

 from seed. In this regard, however, the case of the 

 apricot is somewhat more favorable than that of 

 most other orchard fruits, because this species 

 has been less widely cultivated, and is therefore 

 less complex as to its hereditary tendencies than 

 most others. 



Moreover, it is fairly easy in the case of the 

 apricot to predict the qualities of the fruit from 

 observation of the very young seedlings. In gen- 

 eral the buds and leaves and wood in the first sea- 

 son give one a fairly good idea as to what size and 

 quality of fruit the future tree will bear. 



On the other hand, the apricot has a peculiar 

 habit of sending out a young shoot, and then post- 

 poning further growth until the buds set and 



[246] 



