ON TIMBER TREES 



of unison with every other member of its own 

 species, could we analyze its characteristics in 

 detail, for every conspicuous point of divergence. 

 If we consider minutiae of detail as to size and 

 exact form of leaf and all the rest, no two individ- 

 uals are identical. But if, on the other hand, we 

 take the broad view, it is clear that each recognized 

 species stands out in a place apart, grouped with 

 all the other members of its own kind, and some- 

 what isolated from all other species. 



Such being the obvious fact, it was perhaps not 

 strange that the botanists and foresters of twenty- 

 five years ago looked almost with suspicion on 

 anyone who suggested that the different species of 

 forest trees might be interbred and modified and 

 used as material for building of new species that 

 would better fulfill the conditions of re-forestra- 

 tion than any existing species. 



Even botanists who thought that they fully 

 grasped the idea of Darwinian evolution looked 

 askance at such a suggestion. 



It seemed to bid defiance to the laws of 

 heredity, as they understood them. 



It appeared almost like an affront to Nature 

 herself to suggest that her handiwork might thus 

 be modified and improved. 



MATERIALS FOR SELECTION 



And it may well be questioned whether this 



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