LUTHER BURBANK 



who realizes the essential identity of the principles 

 of heredity, applied to men and plants alike, will 

 doubt that the would-be developer of a race of 

 giants was on the right track. 



He was starting out in just the way that 1 

 started when aiming to produce a race of amaryl- 

 lis plants that would grow gigantic flowers. 



But even had the royal experiment in man- 

 breeding been carried forward by the successors 

 of the originator of the idea, it would have been 

 a long time before a giant appeared among the 

 royal guards that overtopped his fellows in such 

 proportion as the giant amaryllis outspreads its 

 companions. 



For there is a time element in these breeding 

 experiments that cannot be ignored; and the units 

 of measurement are not years but generations. 



In the case of the amaryllis a generation varies 

 somewhat with different species and varieties, but 

 frequently is not more than two years. In other 

 words, many species of amaryllis will produce 

 seed in their second year, when grown from seed. 

 And at most three or four years suffice to bridge 

 the gap between successive generations. 



But a human generation spans a gap of some- 

 thing like a quarter of a century. As a rule the 

 most vigorous and healthy offspring are not born 

 until their parents are at least twenty-five years 



[74] 



