THE SUM OF HIS WORK 



demand which has followed, and are reaping rich 

 rewards for the small investment of enterprise and 

 coin which they then made." 



It will appear from this quotation that the 

 announcement of the new fruits and flowers cre- 

 ated an altogether exceptional interest, and that 

 this interest was not confined to any one class of 

 people. Although the announcement had been 

 made for the benefit of practical horticulturists 

 and nurserymen, the brochure found its way into 

 the hands of the general public and of theoretical 

 biologists, as well, and it would be hard to say 

 which class of people were most exercised over it. 



If we briefly review the causes that underlay 

 this widespread interest, and, considering one 

 class of the public after another, attempt to explain 

 just what its attitude was toward the new work, 

 we shall at the same time be able to present an 

 outline of the work itself and interpret it in the 

 light of the mental environment of the time at 

 which the work appeared with reference to the 

 broad problems of heredity. 



Let us then attempt a brief analysis of the atti- 

 tude of (1) horticulturists in general, (2) the pub- 

 lic at large, (3) scientific biologists, and (4) work- 

 ing experimenters in heredity, with reference to 

 the revelations made in New Creations in Fruits 

 and Flowers. In so doing we shall gain an inkling 



[159] 



