LUTHER BURBANK 



serve as well as another to introduce our studies 

 of the development of new varieties of flowers, 

 even though the particular development under 

 consideration has to do with the leaf of the plant, 

 and not with its blossoms. The principle of devel- 

 opment is the same in its application to each 

 part of the plant, and we shall see plenty of illus- 

 trations of work with the flowers themselves 

 before we are through. 



The wild geranium, of which the plant with the 

 strange leaf is a modified representative, is a plant 

 that normally has leaves some of which are rather 

 decorative because of their very slightly scalloped 

 margins, but which in general are quite plain. 

 Some of the leaves are flecked with brownish 

 spots, but the surface is quite smooth, as much 

 resembling an apple or geranium leaf as any 

 other. Even botanists have never taken special 

 notice of any variation in the form of the leaf. 



There is, however, a marked tendency to 

 variation in different specimens, especially in the 

 brown spots on the leaves, and the crimson 

 sha dings in the fall. 



A NEW LEAF BY SELECTION 



Several years ago, in examining some of these 

 plants growing wild on a rocky ledge over Mt. St. 

 Helena, I observed one that had leaves slightly 

 crinkled at the edges. This slight, almost insig- 



[8] 



