ON EXTREME VARIATION 



the plant but the interest that attaches to the devel- 

 opment of unexpected variations. And I repeat 

 that the possibility of finding a new form in your 

 flower garden almost any morning will give per- 

 petual interest to your task, and will come to be a 

 compelling incentive that will take you to the gar- 

 den as steel is drawn to the magnet. 



To illustrate the possibilities from the case 

 directly in hand, let us recall the new race of bal- 

 loon-flowers, the evolution of which we have just 

 traced. I have said that the experiment began 

 with the ideal of a balloon-flower of better form, 

 more graceful placement of flowers, and individ- 

 ual blossoms larger and of more brilliant color. I 

 have said also that these ends were in due course 

 attained, and have traced briefly the steps through 

 which the new race of perfected balloon-flowers 

 was evolved. 



Now it remains to add that when the experi- 

 ment was approaching completion, and a new race 

 of balloon-flowers in many ways satisfactory was 

 actually in being, I discovered one day among the 

 blossoms one that had a perfectly regular second 

 row of petals, instead of the usual single row, or 

 the irregular so-called double, which had some- 

 times appeared. Here was an unexpected varia- 

 tion, which was something that I had not counted 

 on or considered. 



[25] 



