LUTHER BURBANK 



might better be regarded as a proof of their ca- 

 pacity for further education. 



In particular, I hoped, with the new material 

 then being gathered from foreign countries, to be 

 able to undertake hybridizing experiments that 

 might reasonably be expected to produce alto- 

 gether novel results. 



How fully this expectation was justified, the 

 reader is already aware. But it should be 

 recalled that the things which now seem axiomatic 

 because they have been accomplished had quite a 

 different aspect from the standpoint of the year 

 1885. Hybridizations that have now been shown 

 to be ready of accomplishment were then regarded 

 as quite impossible by all horticulturists who gave 

 the matter a thought. 



Indeed, as has been pointed out, the general 

 attitude among botanists and horticulturists every- 

 where was one of profound skepticism as to the 

 possibility of developing modified races by hybrid- 

 izations, or, indeed, by any means whatever within 

 limited periods of time. 



My own faith in the possibility of developing 

 new races through crossing and selection had 

 never faltered, however, since my earlier studies 

 had given a clear view of the range of variation of 

 plants both under natural conditions and under 

 cultivation. And it may be taken as adequate 



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